Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor
by THE Xenomorph
Summary: Life for Voyager and Vile gets complicated as the other hybrids begin their plotting. Reviews appreciated.
1. Preparation

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Preparation**_

I was in the holo-deck when we docked with the viidian space station Treemus. I wasn't even aware of it until Janeway came over the com systems and announced it and the week of R&R the crew would receive while I recovered from my now truly and totally imminent surgery.

"Still time to change your mind." Harry smirked at me. The scars from the acid burns he had received were still present and nothing the Doctor could do was able to properly regenerate the tissue. That left Harry with a small streak etched into the right side of his face, something he still didn't seem comfortable with, but never complained of.

"Ah, come on J.G." Chell smiled at us as the simulation of our planned prep-room whirred to a stop. "What'd I touch?"

"Nothing." I said. "This program was set to deactivate upon docking." I said with a smile. "Get out of here, you all need a break."

"Says the guy about to go into brain surgery." Harry shook his head and sat his pad down. "Good luck, you're not allowed to die on us."

"Not gonna happen." I snorted. As the two left the holodeck.

I waited until they were both gone before I spoke again, an order to the computer. "Bring up program Vile-Redundancy-Alpha."

A console shimmered into existence and I walked over to it without a second thought. I scanned the templates and programs I had been making privately in the last few days. They weren't anywhere up to what I wanted, but they contained instructions on how to train against any yautja incursion against the ship. I made sure to include clan markings so my clan wasn't lumped in by accident. If I survived the surgery I would be able to continue working on them, if not I left instructions for Tom and Tuvok to perfect them. The beeping of the ship's coms began in the background, but I ignored it as I continued my programming.

"So this is what you've been doing." The Doctor appeared in the holodeck.

"Most people knock or use the door chime." I said, slightly annoyed.

"I've been trying to get you on the coms for five minutes." The Doctor returned my own tone. "They need to speak with you."

"I've still got time in here scheduled, and it's for training purposes." I grumbled.

"Are you leaving instructions?" He asked.

I stopped my typing and looked to the Doctor. "You know I am."

"Then it can wait, Doctor's orders." The Doctor smiled.

I scoffed with a deep barking laugh, "When have I ever listened to Doctor's orders?"

He looked almost hurt, "Once or twice, but you really should listen more often."

"Give me a minute Doc, I need to finish this last coding." I reluctantly acquiesced.

"I'll be waiting in sickbay." He smiled and vanished.

I went back to my programming and finished the line that had been bothering me. Then I saved the program and shut it down.

8888-8888-8888-8888

"Anderson, no. Just no." Catlina Flores shook her head at her roommate who was currently breaking her orders to rest just to clean a few dirty spots on the rug.

"I just said he might appreciate it." Anderson gave a wicked smile.

"I am not doing that." Flores sighed. "Besides he's probably have an aneurysm and drop dead."

"Oh come on, he's a mutated S.O.B., but he's still a guy." Anderson scoffed.

"Whom I'm still getting to know!" Flores balked at her friend. "I am not greeting him in a teddy."

"Oh you're such a prude." The blonde rolled her eyes.

"I am not!" Flores snapped, "This is freakishly odd for the both of us, we're taking it slow."

"Oh, all right..." Anderson wobbled back to her bed and wiggled onto it with a huff. "Party pooper."

"This from the woman who impressed said mutated boyfriend of mine by bludgeoning a xenomorph to death." Flores rolled her eyes. "Lydia, you wouldn't have fun riding on a comet."

"Hey that's not true." Anderson snapped back this time. "Comets can crash into things." Her wicked smile returned followed by a small wince as she moved her leg just slightly wrong.

"You are so insane." Flores sighed in defeat as she went to leave. "I'll be back after wishing him luck on the surgery."

8888====8888====8888====8888====8888

"Mom, we're going to be late." Naomi said from her chair in the living quarters her and her mother shared.

"He's not gonna leave without saying goodbye to one of his favorite people." Samantha Wildman laughed from the bathroom.

"I know and I don't want him to be late because of us." Naomi's need for urgency became more apparent to her mother and the elder finally relented with a deep sigh.

"Let me finish and we'll go."

"Ok." Naomi's voice chirped happily.

A few moments later Samantha Wildman walked out and held her hand out for her daughter.

"Shall we?"

"We shall." Naomi's smile grew as she took her mother's hand. "Are you going to be there?"

"No, Vile made it pretty clear only the Doctor and the viidians would be allowed to do this." The ensign grumbled.

8888====8888====8888====8888====8888

"Okay..." I checked my room over for the last time before I turned to leave. The room was still mostly empty, but I was determined to make it my own. "Time to go." I wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, but it felt justified. "I'll be back in less than a day. I will rest for however long the Doctor tells me too and I will not rip off anyone's face of my own volition." The last part was fast becoming a mantra for me.

The door chimed, I stayed still for a few moments before Janeway overrode the door and walked in with a smile. "Nervous?"

"I'm letting people clone my brain tissue to put it back in my head." I laughed, a bit more darkly than I meant to. "Yeah, I'm a little nervous."

"Well you can trust the Doctor." Janeway smiled.

"The Devil could trust the Doctor." I snorted. "It's the Saalmdir's people I'm worried about."

"They won't take your DNA." Janeway said with what I perceived to be confidence. "Saalmdir has promised that."

"Saalmdir is one man." I sighed. "I trust him, but don't be surprised when we get a message begging for help from him because his government got really happy at the possibility of a bio-weapon."

"Well that will be on them then." Janeway said.

"And me." I said. "I don't have to go through with this, leashes aren't that bad."

"You'd go mad in a week and have turn around." Janeway gave a light smile.

"I'm serious." I said, unsure now if I really wanted to do this.

"It's your choice Vile and no one would blame you for being skittish around the viidians, but you know as well as I do that medication will only take you so far." Janeway leaned against the archway of the door.

"If they don't destroy it..."

"We'll do what we can for those we encounter." Janeway said. "But I won't be an extermination squad for their mistake."

"You wouldn't have to be." I stood up. "The clan would relish the hunt."

"And you would be punished." Janeway rolled her eyes.

"He wouldn't kill me." I smiled, "The old hunter's fond of me and knows I'm needed."

"You are really a glutton for punishment, literally." Janeway shook her head and motioned for me to take a step out. "The first step is always the hardest."

"Tell me about it." I grumbled as I took the first of many steps to have my brain purposely cut into.


	2. Operation: Coffee Surgery

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Operation: Coffee Surgery  
**_

"I hate this already." Vile sneered at the lab he was guided to. He had only arrived on the viidian space station a half hour ago and he was already being prepped for the life altering surgery faster than he was prepared for.

"I'm sorry sir." A confused blonde nurse asked.

"Nothing." Vile sighed. "Where's the Doc?"

"Your Doctor and the others are prepping, we have to do the same for you." She smiled as Vile let out a deep sigh.

"You got a name?" He asked, less annoyed now that he knew the Doctor was about.

"Virini." She smiled.

"Well Virini, if I were you, I'd transfer as far from here as you can after."

The nurse smiled, but ultimately seemed dismissive of him and so he just sighed and walked over to the table and laid down on his chest. Then he felt the nurse begin to secure his limbs to the table. When she seemed to ignore his tail Vile simply whipped it around gently in the air, she then secured it.

"Don't want anyone jabbed with that." He grumbled as several braces held his tail in place.

"No we don't." He voice trembled as she finished securing Vile to the table.

"Now we begin the anesthesia and then we pressurize the operating room." She explained. "Any questions?"

"No, but if you got family take them with you." Vile yawned as a gas came from inside the operating table. He never heard the nurse's reply.

8888===8888====8888====8888

I did not dream while they cut into my brain, instead I found myself face to face with the Black Warrior. He stood motionless and merely tracked my movements as I paced back and forth. I did not like being in this realm, it made me unsure as to everything about my life. Was I human, yautja or kainde? Why did the Black Warrior come for me and not the Grim Reaper, why not the one I had met so long ago?

The Warrior would eventually turn and leave me to a deep and silent darkness, but it still left questions in my head, questions that would always confuse me. Even as I thought on them in the horrible darkness and they quickly began to drive me mad in the silence of no answers, I began to think I had been asking the wrong questions, but then I had wonder what were the right questions. How would I find them?

Questions it seemed were the bane of my existence.

Then light and color as my eyes flew open and my body strained against the restraints that held me in place. Then the world rocked and crushed viidian body fell into view, the body so mangled by the exposure to the pressure in the room that I could barely make out if it was male or female.

"Doc! What's going on?" I shouted, but no response came.

"Your Doctor was forced to return to _Voyager _once the attack began." A voice said through a com. "When the surgical team's suits were ruptured we were forced to use mechanical means to finish the surgery."

"What attack?" I roared.

I turned my head to see a hallway and a form I did not recognize as Viidian or any of the crew. Rage stirred in my blood.

"Liarans, a race we harvested, they refuse to accept our apologies and recompense. They declared war on us and anyone who does accept an apology about two months ago, this is their first direct attack."

Mandibles fluttered about it's face as it spoke in time with the com. My blood rose to a peak of anger.

"And Janeway's negotiating peace..." I grumbled the lie easily.

"They fired on _Voyager_ first as it had the superior firepower, your Captain is currently helping to drive them off."

A dark smile curled over my, "And that Janeway, is my victory."

"I'm sorry." The voice said. "Didn't quite get that."

I roared as I pushed my body up and forced the restraints to the breaking point, snapping each one with ease. "I get to rip you all apart!" Restraints fell to my side and some still looped about my appendages, like the failed chains that held back the greatest fictional ape in history. The form turned to me as a light in the hall flickered and I was it was a bipedal insectoid with a large blaster rifle in a strong set of main hands and a smaller pistol held in a smaller set of arms. I slammed my fist into the window of the door and the creature merely laughed at me as my hand bounced off leaving droplet of my blood.

"We have you sealed in mons-" It stopped as it saw my blood eat through the plastic that made up the window, it barely had time to comprehend what was happening before my claws shot through the weakened structure of the window, grabbed it's face and pulled it through the much smaller opening. It's head hung there for a moment, stunned by what had happened, but still alive. It managed to lift it's face to look at me before I slammed the doors into the wall, cleanly removing skull from body with a sick and satisfying crunch.

I stepped into the hallway and saw the bodies of several doctors and nurses, I recognized none of them, but it still caused my blood to boil to the surface. I continued down the halls, taking caution as I heard footsteps approach, the thoughts of how truly is amazing how often sapient life overlooks shadows large enough to hide a herd of anything danced in my head as many of the insectoid life forms merely passed me up without even trying to look in my direction. Instead they were focused on gathering hostages and captives, a goal that seemed slightly off to me as the bodies of the dead outside my room attested too.

Despite all my desires to run in and slaughter the creatures, the clans teachings took hold and I stuck to the shadows and observed. They let their captives speak amongst each other and their leader seemed to take them aside and question them. This was no simple attack for the sake of revenge, something deeper was going on and as per the usual in my life I was stuck in the middle of it. These guys were about to share my bad mood, or improve it depending on the volume of their screams. In the shadows my smile grew ever so slightly.

I caught movement as I saw a lone grunt travel down a hall. The shadows in between and the lax assurance of the others allowed me to pass into it with ease. The grunt was just as unobservant as his fellows and merely stalked down the hall, peaking his head into each room, grunting and firing a blaster shot. He didn't even notice that my foot steps weren't in time with his own. Then he fired into a room and a small squeal came from inside, a child's voice. He stepped in and shouted about demanding for the child to show itself. He couldn't even guess to look under the bed in what was obviously a child's room.

I stepped in behind him, the room's height allowing me to stand fully erect and tower over the creature's five foot frame. It was, thankfully for my sanity, capable of noticing the shadow I created and turned to face me just as my claws lifted and pierced him into the ceiling.

"What do your people want?" I growled straight into it's face, I let the rage contort my calmness to a wrathful visage.

"They harvested us..." He croaked out, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Bullshit, you're insectoid, your biology isn't compatible." I spat back at him and twisted my ring finger which I guessed was in a painful place. His wince told me I was right. "Now, again, this time the truth."

"Food!" He gasped as I wiggled the finger.

"How very unfortunate." I sighed, then I turned to the bed in a corner of the room. "Look away."

"I can't!" He hissed, then my tail pierced through the bottom of his he to the top. His body convulsed for a few seconds and then stopped moving.

I heard a whimper from the bed and dropped the body from out of sight before crawling over and peeking under. It was a small boy, terrified out of his mind with an IV attached to his arm and tears streaming down his face.

"Please don't eat me." He whimpered and whatever rage I felt melted as I brought the IV under the bed and secured it to hang from the underside of the metal frame.

"Go to sleep." I said. "You'll wake up and this will all have been a bad dream." I lied, but it felt the best thing to do.

"Really?" He asked.

I couldn't bring myself to lie anymore to the child so I simply smiled and draped a blanket over the edge to cut of the sight of any errant grunt. Then I stood and grabbed the body of my victim, drug it down the hall and slammed it into the wall as hard as I could, crushing the spine in the process and ensuring that there was no way it would survive. Not long after I heard the clamor of several sets of feet and soon saw three grunts in aiming their rifles at me, I noted a lack of pistols.

"Stop right there!" I heard their lead grunt shout, but the rage had already returned and it was burning sensibility from my mind at an alarming pace.

The growl started low as I dropped their comrade and grew as I turned to them. Their eyes only flickered to their friend for a moment and that was when I charged in and lashed forward. My tail met the rear grunt's neck and released the barb immediately before my tail split and pulled back causing the bladed ends to cut deeply into the necks of the second and first grunts. All three were on the ground without a sound. Two dead and the third grasping madly at the venomous barb slowly killing it. I merely walked over the corpses and sneered at the creatures unworthy to even merit a thought to my own well being.

Before I entered the creatures' staging area I heard an odd sound and noticed a wall communicator was displaying a message on a secure channel. Curious, and hopeful that someone might have answers, I pushed it. Much to my relief Janeway's voice came over the com.

"If I know my luck I'm talking to worst case scenario." Janeway sighed.

"Nice to hear you to Janeway." I chuckled.

"Vile?" She seemed surprised. "You're awake?"

"And killing." I said flatly. "I could use an explanation though."

"Shortly after you were put into recovery a race called the Liaran's attacked. They've claimed to have been harvested and want recompense, but we're not buying it." Janeway said. "We've spent the last seventy-two hours trying to negotiate with them, but nothing. Do you have any news or insight?"

"Fate's got a cruel sense of humor." I chuckled again. "Got one to say something about needing the hostages for food."

"Please tell me they mean to exchange them for food." Janeway sighed.

"Didn't bother to ask for specifics seeing as he was after a child." I snorted.

"Understood." Janeway acknowledged.

"Is the Doctor on Voyager?" I asked.

"Yes. You're the only crew on the station." Janeway confirmed. "One second..." I heard a muffled voice. "Vile, we're patching in the Viidian Commander-in-chief."

"Mr. Vile, this is CiC Mreeget." I heard a worried and stressed voice speak. "Your captain tells me you're an excellent melee fighter and fully capable of handling yourself in most imaginable situations."

"Flattery, Janeway, really?" I chuckled, impressed with her selling of me.

"If the truth is Flattering." She said.

"Yes, well, Mr. Vile if you could perhaps give us intel on what is happening we would be most grateful." The Commander-in-chief said as a deep breath escaped his voice. "We have nothing and no security force left on there, we don't know how many terrorists are on the station but we need to know. I'm not asking you to fight, I can't ask that of a patient, but any information..."

"Mreeget..." I cut him off. "The thing about operating on a monster is that one day all monsters break out of their cages." I let the thrill of the hunt wash over me. "Janeway, feel free to clue him in, meantime I got bugs to squash."

I cut the channel off and leaped into ceiling, making a hell off a crashing sound. Grunts came running to inspect it and found their comrades dead and in pools of their own blood. The mounted flashlights barely cut into the darkness I saw out of perfectly. I growled contentedly as I moved through the ducts. If they couldn't figure out something was killing them now I might as well be evolution at work, culling the stupid from their gene pool.


	3. Fear the hunter

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Fear the hunter**_

The vents became a highway to me as I tore through them, leaving an occasional acid burn where metal parts would bite into my body. They were nothing and never slowed me down, they merely reminded me I was alive. I was running at my full strength after only a few days and my desire to kill had been cranked to the high setting, nothing was going to stop me now. I would hear terrified voices below me every now and then and they only seemed to cause me to move forward at a much greater pace.

Then a vent shut closed in front of me while another opened. How cute, they were trying to herd me. Too bad for them I wasn't going to have it. I tore into the metal and let it melt as the jagged metal edges bit into my hands causing the metal to give even further. I broke through in seconds and was well on my way before they could start closing passages on me. I wasn't really going anywhere in particular, just messing with the aliens to see if I could make them think I was just a wild animal.

I stopped running when I came to a vent that looked down upon a hallway with six of the aliens at one end, a dead body with a chunk of flesh ripped out of it's neck lay right below me. I kicked the venting out and landed on the far end. Four grunts advanced on me, their rifle blasts missing me by hairs widths at a time and the one that did hit merely burned my flesh. They reached me and found I was not as sedate as they likely hoped I would be. I grabbed and crushed the skulls of two with ease and impaled the other two with my tail before spreading the blade and making them each half the grunt they were. The last two looked at each other before one ran off and left his comrade whom I advanced on with slow intent.

Much to my surprise he pulled out a dagger and charged me. The blade pierced the palm of my hand and melted the metal. The grunt didn't waste any time as he pulled out a pistol and aimed at my head, but my other hand was already in his abdomen, the claws tearing a hole into the exoskeletal structure. When I removed it, he dropped to the ground dead. I looked down at the body for a moment, I considered taking his skull, then I realized Janeway would never let me keep a sapient life form's skull as a trophy.

I moved into the hall the other one had run down and a blast caught my bad shoulder. Unfortunately for the grunt that had fired it he was within range of my tail and quickly impaled on it while I roared in pain. I continued down the halls, stomping and snarling, making my presence known, the steps increased as I came upon a body that had been feasted upon. The discovery evoked something darker in me than I had expected and then I realized what the creatures wanted as food. I stalked out of the halls, a new anger filling my chest, straight into a group of grunts aiming their weapons at unarmed nurses and doctors.

"Surrender!" One shouted,

I merely growled and crouched, then began to pace in a crawling fashion that obviously unnerved them. The grunts let their vision shift from me to their hostages a few times, but their leader did not, he stayed locked on me with a deadly awareness.

"Surrender!" Their leader shouted.

I leaped up and and into the ceiling of the station, tearing a hole with my claws, a few blasts directed at me caused my blood to pour down onto the other grunts and a few of the hostages. I heard the screams of guilty and innocent alike and my anger rose once more. Then blasts penetrated the ceiling and forced me to move.

"Keep firing as he moves, he'll run out of space soon!" Their leader shouted.

One soldier screamed about loosing an ally, a name the station's translator couldn't understand. Another shouted about the floor melting. Their leader continued to order the firing, but I had already moved to the other side and wasn't making a peep until I was ready.

"Dammit, it fled!" A grunt shouted.

"Keep firing." Their leader ordered, a deep rattling anger in his voice. It seemed I was getting to him. Good.

I found an air vent and quickly tore it open. The sound drew their attention and the grunts immediately began firing on the vent in both directions. To bad for them I never went in and simply went back around to the hole I had made earlier. I peeked my head through and much to my delight saw that their leader only had two guards, both focused in the wrong direction. I also saw a doctor doing his best to stop a friend's leg from bleeding out and I silently chewed myself out for letting my blood hurt others. That wasn't supposed to happen.

I dropped silently to the ground, the hostages noticed me but remained silent. I stalked closer to the leader and was a mere foot from him when he spun around to face me. He lashed out with a punch that almost broke my nose. I lashed out by jumping on him and ripping his arms from their sockets before leaping to his subordinates and pulling out whatever limb I could. Blood and gore splashed everywhere and I heard both hostage and captor scream in terror as my vision hazed over red.

I heard a voice call out, a familiar voice, but distant, irritating, ready to die. I spun and roared at it not caring who it was, only to slake this unending blood-lust I had found. I saw the form, a black uniform and red shoulder coloring. I charged and several bolts pierced into me, this time dropping me in seconds. Clarity filed my vision as my consciousness faded, I saw Tom Paris scanning me while yelling at the others, I barely heard Harry's voice before I passed out.

One step forward, two steps back.

Fuck. 

* * *

Aboard the darkness of his stolen ship Leto stared at the urns of black goo that now sat secured upon the desk he had claimed from the previous owners. He found himself staring at the legendary chemical and chuckling with glee. He almost felt the need to hug the jars.

"Dearest, why do you laugh so?" Praenuntius asked, her mate remained silent until she went to leave.

"This is the future of our race." Leto's face split in a twisted grin. "We just need to master it."

"And how do we do that, it's either going to kill us or put us back into the hive's control." Praenuntius sighed. "And the queens would just love to punish us for our 'insolence'."

"They only understand their desire to destroy, their compulsion really." Leto looked out into the cargo bay where a queen sat with several drones and several of his guards stood and then felt the back of his head where the scar caused by a fight with a large unfriendly creature had broken the hive's control over him. "Your brother is still my main concern."

"Bobby will come around, or he'll die." Praenuntius smiled.

"What happened to your other plans?" Leto turned to his mate, a look of dangerous curiosity in his eyes.

"Still in play, but I don't want to just kill him. I want my family back." Praenuntius pouted.

Leto walked over to his mate and cradled her face gently. "If that is your wish my love." He released her face and turned to the good on his desk. "We will need out own trump card if that is the case."

"We can't just master it out of desire my dear." Praenuntius chuckled, "No matter how much we may wish."

"And why not?" Leto walked over to his desk and plucked a container up with ease. "We may not be the purest form of it's power but we will be the most passionate, we will be the strongest!"

"Leto, my love." Praenuntius stepped back into the hall, fear tread across he face. "Don't my love."

With a quick motion of his hands he shattered the container and let the black slime loose. At first it merely puddled at his feet, then it began to crawl up his body and with it came agonizing pain and Leto's own maddening screams as something monstrous became a living devil.

I awoke, and that fact was a startling one to me, aboard Voyager with a very upset Doctor standing over me and very little in the way of actual recent memories. I heard shuffle of feet and turned to see Janeway with a viidian official, they didn't seem to notice I was awake and Janeway did not look happy. I got the sense that I was about to wish I had died. I went to sit up and my chest stung, I looked to see my chest covered in blaster burns.

"Relax, they're mostly superficial." The Doctor said.

"Mostly." I groaned. "What happened and why did I get shot?"

"You took on a terrorist force in the medical station." The Doctor explained. "When Tom and your team found you, you were in some sort of berserk frenzy."

"I thought I got fixed?" I grumbled.

"You did, now your brain knows exactly when and how to make you like that." The Doctor grumbled right back.

"Oh joyous day." I fell backwards onto the table. "I hurt anyone I shouldn't have?"

"No, that's the good news." The Doctor said. Whatever they trained you to do in that clan, you only seemed to attack if they had a weapon."

I barked a deep laugh and then cringed. "All right, who got my lungs?"

"That would be Harry." Janeway said as she and the official exited. "You should have stayed hidden, a lot of people might still be alive otherwise."

"I don't hide from monsters." I snapped.

"They wanted food." Janeway said. "The viidians harvested the race that they traded with on their trade routes."

"They were gathering their food." I grunted as the Doctor continued to scan me.

"What?" Janeway's confusion would have been funny, if not for my pain.

"They were gathering the people there for food. I found some of their snacks." I shifted in place, wholly uncomfortable on the much too small table and with having to repeat myself.

"Almost done." The Doctor saw me shift around.

"That does explain the state of several bodies..." The official sighed. "Well, I must thank you for your actions, but condemn you for them as well."

The Doctor nodded and I stood up tall in the sick bay and stretched as far as I could. "It's not like I expect a pat on the shoulder or anything, I did what had to be done."

"I understand." The Official turned to Janeway, "Well that was easier done than said for once."

"That was your condemnation." Janeway seemed less than enthused.

"My government can't condone what he's done, but me as a father and someone with family that worked there..." He seemed to weigh his words. "I may be a bit more lenient on my views." He then bowed and walked to the door where a security guard escorted him away.

"The luck you have is beyond amazing." Janeway took a deep sigh, "But it only works with them."

"Plasma manifold duty, was wondering when I was gonna get it." I grinned.

"Oh you wish." Janeway almost looked a little manic. "No, I'm gonna find a more effective way to punish you..." She then grinned and walked out.

I turned to the Doctor. "Somehow I think my antics finally broke her."

"I think you're right." The Doctor's look lingered on the door.


	4. The Black

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**The Black**_

The hybrids had taken to pacing in the halls of their ship shortly after Leto exposed himself to the Black. They looked up whenever Praenuntius walked past and gave looks of confusion and anger. Their minds were still tied to the hive and the hive was already on edge since Leto and his mate were severed from the hive. They hissed and barked at her but she merely brushed past them and went about her work.

Praenuntius herself was also angry. Her mate was currently cocooned in a black wall of slime and ichor and she didn't know if he was either going to come out as a servant to the hive once more or even at all. What's worse was that his absence was causing the other male hybrids to get aggressive, as if they felt a vacuum of power forming. She knew she had to act fast but here on this ship she only had one ally and he was currently indisposed, so she knew she had to make a new one and fast.

She caught a glimmer as the hirogen hybrid passed by, his cloaking device still functioning, but mostly pointless on the ship given that the hive saw right through it. A smile curved to her lips as she realized her needs had been answered.

"Hirogen." She whispered, her pheromones kicking in. The hirogen hybrid turned to her, the glaze in his eyes obvious. "Follow me..."

She lead the hirogen to a secret part of the ship that even the hive had no clue existed and it was bare of anything save for a few sharp pieces of metal she and Leto had gathered for the express purpose of freeing their people from the hive. She wasn't happy she had to step up some plans, but she knew she could outwit the queens and if she needed to she'd bring Leto back to their side.

"Prae-nun-tius..." The hybrid stammered, "What does the hive wish of me?"

"We wish you to feel pain for all the hybrids."

The hybrid grabbed his face in agony and fell backwards flailing before he launched himself back into a standing position and hissed at her. The hissing of several drones and the roar of the queens followed and soon the mostly human-like screams of the other hybrids followed.

"Why?" He growled "Never mind, you're insane, the two of you reject the hive now, this shouldn't surprise us!" He turned to leave and Praenuntius acted, grabbing a metal shard and jamming it into the skull of the hybrid. The hybrid dropped to the ground still breathing, but also twitching.

Praenuntius smiled as she stepped over his twitching body. "When you've collected yourself come to Leto's office, we need to prepare for the hive turning on us." She knew the distraction of overloading all the hybrids could provide a crucial excuse for having "fallen" on a stray shard, and she and Leto would be more than happy to have the company of another hybrid.

She smiled to herself and put on her best disinterested face before making her way back to the office. If Leto was right he would emerge with the secret of making their own race a possibility. If she was right they would both soon be dead, either way this ship was going to be a lot less full soon.

* * *

"This is pointless." Vile sighed as he scanned the charts he and Seven were going over.

"You have mentioned this before." Seven said in her usual dry tone, though a slight edge of annoyance colored it.

"I have? I hadn't noticed." Vile grumbled.

"Nine times in the last six hours." Seven said dismissively.

"You know you could just ignore me." He continued grumbling.

"I have noticed you work more efficiently when agitated." Seven said flatly.

"You're shittin' me." Vile glanced to his side at the former Borg.

"I do not 'shit' people." Seven continued her work.

"You're telling me that you purposely provoke me to get better work out of me?" Vile asked, confused and slightly angry.

"That is correct." Seven confirmed.

"I don't know whether to be happy or pissed off." Vile said in slight awe.

"Anger would increase efficiency by point five-six percent." This time Vile caught the slight curl of her lips.

"Smart ass." Vile went back to his normal petulant behavior.

"We are being followed." Seven said as she slid a pad to him, Vile scanned it for a few seconds.

"Could be yautja, could be Leto and the others." Vile sneered. "Either way we should be prepared for a fight."

"How prepared?" Seven asked.

"Get ready for a yellow alert." Vile sighed as he took the pad and went to leave. He only made it to the door before he reacted by screaming in agony and dropping to the floor.

Seven's reaction was instant as she was immediately by his side. "Can you hear me?"

Vile's only reaction was to continue screaming.

"Seven to Sick Bay."

"_What's wrong?"_ The Doctor asked, his usual concern showing.

"Nothing." Vile gasped as he propped himself up against a wall. "At least not anymore."

"Vile may have discovered an issue with the surgery." Seven said cautiously over the com.

"No, I know this feeling..." Vile was visibly shaken and trying to catch his breath. "It's not complete, but I can feel the hive and a queen just punished the hell out of the hybrids."

"_What did he just say?!"_ The Doctor almost shrieked. _"Get him here immediately!" _

"I'll be there soon Doc, I just need to catch my breath." Vile said as Seven opened the com once more.

"_Understood, just don't put it off." _The Doctor said.

* * *

A few minutes later I wandered into Sick Bay on my own two legs, but obviously out of sorts. The Doctor had me sit on one of the tables and Janeway was of course there, which was good in a way as I was able to pass of the pad. Unfortunately she didn't seem interested in it.

"What kind of connection to the hive are we talking about here Vile?" Janeway asked.

"Same that has been, only the missing sections of brain have made it impossible for them to put me through pain." It wasn't that new to me, a bit surprising really that the viidians repaired that much damage. Still, I wasn't rampaging through the halls screaming for blood so I knew it wasn't a complete repair and that was definitely a positive in my book.

"Will it heal all the way Doctor?" Janeway asked

"No, at least I don't think so." He gave an uncertain nod and brought up a holographic display of my brain. "Vile's biology seems to be accelerating everything that's been slowed. His healing, his senses and even his aggression are being dialed up to a degree I'm not entirely comfortable with."

"Bullshit Doc, I haven't been trying to rip people's faces off any more than usual." I snapped defensively.

"I'm putting that down to the fact that you're no longer hallucinating or having bouts of depression so you can actually control yourself with a much greater degree than before." I went to speak but he cut me off, "However, I also suspect that when your 'killing' instinct kicks in again that you're going to need an almost immediate release for it."

"We might not be near a planet capable of supporting game for him to hunt." Janeway sighed.

"To that end I suggest a special hunting program in the holodeck, one with safety precautions lowered or even off." The Doctor definitely did not like suggesting that.

"That is extreme Doctor." Janeway even caught onto his discomfort.

"Vile can handle himself..." He gave me a wary, if not concerned glance. "But if he can't control his aggression he may snap and hurt other people."

"Don't want that." I snorted, "Unless it's Carey, then I may be slightly less inclined to agree with the Doc."

"Vile." Janeway leveled her warning voice at me like a canon ready to fire.

"Sorry." I snorted again. "So how do we stop the pain-jacking, cause once they figure out the can induce pain again, they'll try for other things and then straight murdering me through pain overload if they can't control me."

"Well I could sever the connection properly." The Doctor suggested. "It would mean you'd need to keep checking in with me every so -"

"No meds." I growled while my tail took it's typical defensive posture, something I hadn't even meant to do.

"No meds." The Doctor said with a firm shake of his head., "I'd need to monitor your brain to make sure it doesn't grow back. Remember your healing factor is, for lack of a better term, supercharged for now."

"How long?" Janeway asked.

"I don't know, it could be a month, a week or even a few days, but we'lll know when it stops being so active." The Doctor said with an air of certainty I wasn't comfortable with myself.

"How will we know?" Janeway asked, likely as she caught the look on my face scrunch into an uncomfortable mass of confusion.

"Well first, he's going to physically crash and need a while to recover..." I interrupted with a dark laugh.

"I can't win..." I shook my head as the Doctor continued.

"Right now his body is on what appears to be a sugar high, all the symptoms match except for the presence of sugar." The Doctor brought up a readout of my body chemistry which looked like hieroglyphics to me, but he continued to explain anyway. "I suspect when his body has run whatever repairs it feels it needs to be done that we'll see it go into a form of torpor or hibernation to reclaim the lost energy."

"Lovely." Janeway sighed and then noticed my look of utter confusion.

"Why is nothing ever easy?" I asked with a sigh.

"I was about to ask the same question." Janeway laughed. "Suggestions then Doctor?"

"Well, when he suffers from the crash we'll need to transport him to his quarters and let him rest." He grabbed a small device and went to place it on my neck, but I held his hand back.

"You'll get like half a second's heads up before I crash. I'll likely know before you will." I sighed and stood off the table. "I'll tell B'elanna and Carey I won't be able to do engineering until this is straightened out, I'll focus on the team until then." I sighed.

"Sounds like a solution to me." Janeway agreed. "When can you sever the connection Doctor?"

The Doctor pulled out one of his little tools and motioned for me to rest on a table.

"This'll be fun." I chortled as I made myself as comfortable as possible on the small table. "Hey Doc, don't forget the get well cards this time."

"Ha, ha, ha." He smiled. "This will sting a bit..."

Sting was an understatement. It was a fire in my head and I jumped straight up and slammed my head into the wall and gave myself a huge welt to go with the surgery burns on the inside of my brain. At least I was still conscious.


	5. Words

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

**Author's Request: I love that I'm getting favorites for this and it's start up story, but please if you feel you want to favorite it, leave a review. Even if it's just to say "Cool story" or "Keep it up". Those words of kindness can often keep me going when I'm dead tired and otherwise wouldn't be writing. Thank you.**

_**Words**_

I spent the next few days wandering about my training simulations, checking and double checking each and every facet. It ended up being a very boring few days and I nearly screamed myself in and out of madness more than once. Of course that may have had more to do with the fact that someone managed to sneak the most terrifying program I could conceive of into all of my files and I spent most of my time eradicating a holographic water sprite than anything else. It was fun at first, then the monster's patterns got too predictable and it was a work of tedium in the end.

Thankfully relief came in the form of Naomi and Icheb, both looking for something fun to do. I silently thanked God for the boredom of children and got to work looking through the programs with them. They chose something called "_Mars Attacks_", a science fiction module where aliens were invading a 1950's Earth. Apparently Tom Paris found and restored it, but didn't like it, but the kids and a few others got a kick out of the ridiculous nature of the set up.

We enjoyed the romp through a crazy representation of a time period most people seemed to treat as "ancient" and revered. I didn't quite get that since it was only a hundred odd years before my own time. It made me think the Federation's perceptions of time were a little skewed and I was definitely gonna bring that up with Janeway. In fact it's kinda what I did shortly after when I managed to actually catch her in the mess hall, berating Neelix for messing with her coffee. Sometimes Neelix really was a shithead, but his heart was in the right spot most of the time.

"Good afternoon Vile." She smiled as Neelix relented on their argument. "Any trouble?"

"No, just boredom and lack of sleep." I sighed. "Oh and your perceptions of time are nuttier than a bald klingon spouting Shakespeare."

Janeway burst out laughing at that.

"What?" I blinked as she led me to a couch and table, one of the few place I could sit at in the mess hall.

"Klingons love the bard." Janeway smiled.

"My god, reality really has lost it's mind." I sighed. "Anyway, I was running a holoprogram set in the 1950's with Naomi and Icheb and Naomi kept referring to the technology as 'ancient'."

"Well it is." Janeway smiled. "I imagine to your mind it's likely not, but..."

"Antiquated." I corrected her. "The term is antiquated, not ancient."

"They mean about the same." Janeway smiled.

"Something ancient has been around for longer than most people can remember or detail. Antiquated is merely old and outdated sure, but you can find the connections where technology or society made its leaps to modern day. It's traceable." I sighed. "The wheel is ancient, the nuclear reactor is antiquated." I felt I had to add the following, though I don't know why. "The Hive is ancient, the yautja are ancient as races go."

"And humanity?" Janeway asked, she seemed very interested in my answer.

"Toddlers." I sighed. "As are most of the races I've read up on; at least as far as I can tell."

"Oh really?" Janeway asked.

"Just some light reading, checked on their earliest measures of civilization, most tended to pop-up around the same time is all."

"A lot of historians and scholars say the same thing. They think we were all made from some greater, long forgotten race. Precursors if you will."

"I know what a precursor is Janeway." I snorted as Neelix brought over a tray. I looked it over, curious as to what was brought before me. "What you got there hedgehog?"

Neelix glared at me, but stopped when Janeway gave a light chuckle. "I'm sorry Neelix, but that was funny."

"I would feel a little less insulted if I knew what a hedgehog was." Neelix sighed. "Anyway, I have here some tidbits of various sandwiches I've been making. peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, that sort of thing. I've been asking everyone to sample them with the ingredients I acquired from the viidians."

"Nice..." I stared at the plate as he sat it down. "I'll take my usual drink." I smiled at him nervously. He rolled his eyes, sighed and went back to the kitchen.

"I don't know if I want to try these.." Janeway balked.

"I'll try one if you try one." I picked up what looked like a grilled cheese sandwich made with pink cheese that seemed to bubble.

"You're on your own." Janeway smiled. "But if we're going to play the semantics game, two hundred and nineteen years."

"Yeah, well three hundred makes people think longer before trying something stupid." I said as I realized she was referring to how long I kept claiming to have been on the planet before they came along. "Besides, it felt like three hundred years and you're the one who said it."

"Faulty math under a stressful situation." Janeway smiled. "Why is this even bothering you anyway?" She shook her head in confusion.

"It was only a hundred and some odd years before I was born, kinda makes me feel..." I searched for the word.

"Even more out of place?" Janeway finished, I nodded, but I think we both knew that wasn't the answer I meant. She gave a sigh and rubbed her forehead in what I assumed was frustration. "For my part, I'll attempt to remember that when you're around and I'll inform the senior officers."

"Thanks." I shifted, a little uncomfortable at the situation.

"Oh don't be like that." Janeway laughed. "You've gone this long without it making you crazy, I'm sure the crew will understand."

"Actually I'm more worried about the pad I gave you." I admitted. "You still haven't given orders."

"And I won't, not until we're sure." Janeway said. "If they're another clan we'll risk setting them off, if they're the others we definitely alert them to something."

"Huh..." I blinked for a moment. "I guess that's true. Still don't feel comfortable with them being so close and not doing anything, makes me itchy."

"Really?" Janeway snickered.

"What?" I asked, confused about the laughter.

"I guess you're not aware the crew uses you as a barometer for how dangerous a given situation is."

"I'm not really the best choice for that. Since you know, I'm paranoid about most life forms finding out about me." I snorted.

"Discretion is the better part of valor." Janeway smiled, I did not. "Not happy about that?"

"Not happy that I'm being used to determine how threatening something is and then being treated with kids gloves sometimes." I growled.

"Don't think that for one moment." Janeway went into captain mode. "We've been through this before, we'd all die for you and we'll all sure as hell make sure you don't turn on us."

"I know..." I sighed. "I've told myself that a thousand upon a thousand times." I put my face in my hands, frustrated with the old feelings that suddenly reared their head. I felt her hand pull my claws away from my face.

"You're one of us. Nothing is going to change that. Even you." I looked up to see her smiling, not as a captain or her motherly self, but just Janeway.

"Thanks." I sighed, not quite sure how to take this mini revelation.

"Don't mention it." She smiled. "Now some good news for you."

"Oh joy, this should be entertaining." I snorted as Neelix delivered my drink and quietly skittered away when I gave him a glance.

"We've finished your special sleeping tank." Janeway handed me a pad. "And several of us came up with something better for you to wear a com-badge on." She handed me another pad, this one with several designs on it, I let my claws touch the screen lightly and noticed the pad reacted to the tapping.

"We're also making the padds more responsive to you and less likely to scratch." Janeway explained.

"Appreciated, was starting to wonder how long my knuckles were gonna last." I smiled.

I looked over the designs she gave me, they were all made from heavy tear resistant fibers and material, something I greatly appreciated; the first one was a shoulder strap meant to wrap around my bad shoulder and even noted itself as being a protective covering. The position of the com-badge being wedged into the shoulder armor. It was obviously Harry's design, only he would be that concerned about my shoulder. The second was a wrap around harness that had several loops for fastening things too, I could easily imagine several weapons fitting in there and noted the com-badges location on a piece of the harness around the neck. The final one was a gauntlet with a comm system woven into it, it's design was to similar for me not to notice and my gaze drifted to Janeway.

"Oh they can live with us taking a design idea." She rolled her eyes. "Which do you like?"

"All of them." I admitted. "Each is useful in different situations. The wrist gauntlet would be a great everyday choice. The harness still allows for me to swim and potentially communicate with the right equipment and the shoulder protector is good for any potential combat situation, same with the harness."

"Ok, we'll make them all." Janeway said with a nod. "I look forward to seeing your uniform." She gave a small laugh, but stopped when she saw my face and then became serious. "Face it Vile, you're apart of this crew now."

I stood up and nodded. "Yeah, and I keep noticing how crazy you all are."

"Hey, some of us have six years of cabin fever." Janeway pointed out.

I feigned a yawn and began to walk back to the door. "Let me know when that reaches triple digits Janeway. I'm gonna go put my team through hell now. Talk to ya later."

I heard Janeway laugh as I left the mess hall.

* * *

"We must be prepared." Praenuntius said as she and the hirogen hybrid sat in Leto's office, his odd cocoon now pulsated to an unknown rhythm and she watched it anxiously.

"Undoubtedly, but we cannot risk exposing our plans to early." He said as he scratched his newest wound. "You know I should kill you for this..."

"Oh, poor baby, don't appreciate your freedom?" Praenuntius openly mocked him. "Well get used to it. We didn't have the luxury of choice either, but we learned just how right my brother was." She stood and walked over to the mass that was her mate. "Now think, how can we sever the control of the others all at once?"

"A precisely measured trap could get us the at least half of them, and kill the rest." He surmised aloud.

"A trap, yes, but what kind?" Praenuntius mused as she sat back down.

"I do not know, I will need to think on it and design something." He snorted.

"Think on it fast my Laquese, you're pivotal to our survival now." Praenuntius smirked.

"Laquese?" The hirogen hybrid asked with a snort. "You give me a name I know not the meaning of!"

"Noose or snare if you prefer." Praenuntius, "Leto and I both draw our names from an ancient language form our world."

"And Jeht?" Laquese asked.

"I had imagination." The door to Leto's office opened and Jeht entered. He stopped for a moment and noticed the large black mass that should have been Leto. "This is why I felt the pain isn't it?" He nodded to the newest freed hybrid.

"Yes." Praenuntius said. "We need to be ready for the hive to turn on us, we need more on our side."

Jeht snorted. "I'd rather just space all but the eggs. It'd be safer."

"True." Praenuntius admitted, "But the four of us can't run this ship."

"No, but I think I know what kind of trap we might be able to use now." Laquese said with a vicious smile. "Jeht, how would we secure the eggs?"

"Report a weakened hull, the queen will move them to a safer are, likely one we suggest." Jeht said with a derisive glare.

"Then we make sure only a few drones can fit there." Laquese said. "Then we flush the Queen."

"She'll send them on a rampage after us." Jeht rolled his eyes.

"Not if they're confined to a tight enough location that Praenuntius can override the hive." Laquese explained. "Then we have the drones deliver the wounds to our kin."

"Laq, are you aware of how I was before we were shattered from the hive?" Jeht asked.

"No I didn't have that 'joy'." Laquese sneered.

"Well, sufficed to say I am well versed in madness and your plan reeks of it." Jeht laughed then in a much colder tone added, "And sadly it's the best plan I think we have."

"So we're agreed." Praenuntius smiled. "Jeht, go get us a hull report."

Jeht took a bow and left.


	6. Preparation is tantamount

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Preparation is tantamount**_

"Vile!" Janeway's voice signaled a surprise visit while I was working on the holographic kainde and my attention shifted quickly.

"What now Janeway." I sighed.

"We have a com-buoy in range and we're going to contact Earth." Janeway's smile betrayed her delight.

"So no training for a bit, right." I sighed, no one was going to train if they knew they could talk to Earth, even Harry. "All right, more time to focus on this and hope to god I fall asleep soon."

"So it's starting to get on your nerves even?" Janeway chuckled, then she shifted to Captain mode. "Vile, I want you to talk to some of my superiors and contemporaries."

I only let a snarl escape my throat, I didn't even turn around.

"Vile, please." She never changed her tone.

"Not gonna let them get the jump on me. Not gonna..." I snarled out.

"Among them is Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I believe he'll understand your desire to not be an experiment." She said it flatly, but it held absolute confidence.

"Anyone can understand it, why should I care if one more person does?" I snapped.

"Vile, he was once assimilated." Janeway softened her tone. "He'll likely also understand the immense precautions and predispositions you have."

"He'll understand the hate..." I sighed and turned around to face her. "Fine, but I'm leaving if I feel I'm being sized up for a lab."

"Agreed." Janeway nodded. "I'll end the transmission myself if I feel that."

I let a low growl rumble in my chest before turning back to the console. "I heard the new com-holders are close to be being finished." I needed something more pleasant to talk about.

"They should be done in a few days." Janeway smiled, hopefully she realized I needed away from the topic of the Federation's leaders looking me over.

"Thank you, again." I said. "I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, but making those for me..." Her hand touched my arm.

"I understand." She looked to the console. "So what's being worked on now?"

"Now, I'm moving on to wee beastie." I smiled as I brought up the image of the most viscous holographic kainde ever devised.

"Are those extra security protocols?" Janeway asked as she noticed the matrices on my console.

"She's a mean one." I said and activated a display of dominance with another drone. She immediately ripped it's dorsal spines off and the other skittered away to leave wee beastie to pace in an aggressive manner.

"She looks different." Janeway noted. "Her dome almost has a crest and she's bigger."

"Mature drone, more like a soldier really." I explained. "Once I get the group used to her she's going to grow up a little."

"Let me guess, one of the royal guardians?" Janeway smiled. "Like the ancient praetorian guard."

I stopped for a moment. "Yeah, not a bad name for them actually." I admitted.

"Royal Guardian not good enough?" Janeway guffawed.

"Not really. Never really had a name, that's just what I called them because they protected the Queen. Yautja just call them young queens." I continued to work on the coding, then wee beastie's image flickered and the program shut down.

"What was that?" Janeway asked.

"Emergency security shutdown." I explained, "I've been programming lots of my things with it if anything shows the an irregularity that's unacceptable. Specifically aggression or noticing us when they shouldn't."

"I take it her aggression spiked?" Janeway asked.

"Likely." I said as I reactivated the program and brought up the default wee beastie program. Diagnostic will let me know." I scanned the lines as wee beastie's information filled the console. "Or not..."

"No information?" Janeway asked.

"No, plenty. She saw us." I said. "Gonna have to reboot her matrix, gonna cost some learning experiences but I'd rather her not figure out what she is."

"Can she?" Janeway asked a look that was equal parts fear and awe spread across her face.

"She's on her way to being a queen." I snorted derisively, "Yeah she's smart."

"How often does she get beaten?" Janeway asked.

"Twelve and four, her favor." I said flatly.

"Wow." Janeway whistled. "Impressive."

"Hence why she's not in every training exercise."

"Speaking of..." Janeway said.

"Not reducing the schedule." I said defensively without looking up from the console.

"Actually, I want you to run the crew, in groups, through this." Janeway said.

I stopped typing and looked at her with as viscous a smile as I could. "Be my pleasure."

"I just want them prepared in case any get on board." Janeway admitted.

"No problem, I can do that. We can make it faster if Harry runs another group in the other holodeck." I suggested.

"Agreed, I'll set aside a week for the training. Your people I think should get a break during that time."

"Nope." I said. "Crew needs to get used to odd orders coming out of their mouths."

"How odd?" Janeway asked.

I stopped and thought for a moment. "Seven once used a plasma relay as a bomb."

"Ok, no one gets a break." Janeway smiled. "That's not too odd though."

"She was in the radius." I said flatly.

"Ah, those kinds of orders."

"Those kinds of orders." I echoed with a nod.

"Naomi and Icheb as well." Janeway's Captain voice returned.

I nodded. "They're gonna need the training."

"Survival is never fun." Janeway sighed. "I'll call you when the meeting is ready." She smiled lightly and left.

8888====8888====8888====8888====8888

An hour later I wandered into Astrometrics, which seemed to serve as the unofficial hub with which everyone communicated to Earth through. I noticed sever was absent and only Janeway and myself seemed to be in the room at the time. The screen was blank with the Federation's symbol across it, a temporary condition I knew would soon be replaced by a real person. I felt my left eye twitch.

"Come on and sit down." Janeway gestured to a stool. "Brought it in just for you."

"Thanks." I only half grumbled, slightly touched that she thought of that and slightly concerned as to how long I was going to be spending here.

"We'll be starting shortly, first with Captain Picard, then Admiral Paris." She must have caught the look on my face. "Yes, Tom's father."

"Great." I huffed and rolled my eyes just in time to catch the screen flicker to life with the image of an older balding human. A look of dignity crossed with exhaustion was plain on his face.

"Captain Janeway and, Vile, yes?" The man's voice was strong, confident and British, honestly I expected a pompadour and outrageous french accent. This was much better.

"Yeah." I replied curtly.

"Good day." He said with a nod. "Captain, you're the one who set this up, is there any particular reason?"

"I felt Vile needed to see the current Captain the Federation's flagship. Apparently he wasn't too impressed with Archer."

"Well, Archer wasn't a perfect man, no one is." Picard smiled, "But he was a pioneer and didn't really have the guidelines we do, so a lot of mistakes were made."

I glared at Janeway momentarily. "I don't much care to discuss my opinions of Archer, they're not going to change."

"Well very well, what would you like to discuss?" Picard smiled, genuine, if uncomfortable.

"You were assimilated." I said flatly. Janeway seemed to turn her head and sigh.

"Yes." Anything resembling a smile vanished from his face, and a death glare coasted towards Janeway. "It is not something I like to discuss."

"Janeway seems to think you'd make a good role model for 'recovery', I'm guessing, but you and I both know recovery isn't possible, don't we?" My eyes locked with his.

"I'm afraid I don't follow." He said with a curious tone.

"He's not aware of the specifics of your mutation." Janeway sighed.

"Long story short, I was mutated and wound up bound to a hive mind. I was soldier, enforcer and hunter for them. They spread by implanting their young and the young hatch explosively." I sneered at the fact that I had to explain what I was.

"I see." Picard steepled his hands for a moment. "You are correct in some aspects. Situations like ours are impossible to fully recover from, but surely you haven't decided to just be a monster?"

"I am what I am, nothing more nothing less. I won't pretend to be what I was, that's long gone." Our eyes remained locked. "And I won't be anyone's experiment."

"Nor should you be." Picard agreed. "No matter how much of you remains physically human, you are still a citizen of the Federation and due all the rights and freedoms..."

I snorted loudly. "I don't want your citizenship."

"Oh?" Picard's interest piqued.

"We had our parting when they sent my family and several others to investigate the lifeforms they found on the other end of a wormhole that matched some pre-worldwar three documents on alien lifeforms." I let my anger show. "They sent us to die."

"I sincerely doubt tha..." I cut him off again.

"I've read the documents, all crew expendable to acquire a single specimen by order of Section 31." I spat the words out and Picard's confusion became a grimace.

"Damnable..." He groaned. "Section 31 is not affiliated with the Federation, though they like to claim to be."

"They're little more than terrorists that make the Federation look like insane zealots and hypocrites." Janeway sighed in time with Picard.

"Well they don't have to try that hard on the second part." I snorted.

"Oh boy, we're going start a Prime Directive debate aren't we?" Janeway sighed.

"I know better than to debate that with two captains." I growled, "Doesn't make it any less true from where I sit."

Picard leaned forward and met my glare. "For what it's worth Mr. Vile, what happened to you and your family was a crime and it should have been punished and if I could find a single culprit alive today I would pursue them for the prosecution of it."

"Pretty words." I snorted.

"I know they don't mean much, but they are legitimate." Picard said, the tone seemed truthful.

"I'm sorry, both of you. I thought this might make Vile a little less likely to flee as soon as we made our way into the Alpha Quadrant." Janeway sighed, "I have to keep reminding myself, it seems, that Vile's past makes him more than unlikely to stay with us when that happens."

I snorted lightly but but craned my head at Janeway, she never did seem to try to offend me, it just happened.

"No apology necessary for me. Speaking with Vile has been an event." He smiled. "And Vile when you do arrive here, I would invite a friendly debate on the prime directive."

"Come to think of it, I'll take you up on that anytime too." Janeway smiled.

I stood up and stretched, catching sight of Picard's eyes going wide at the sight of my full size. "That won't be a fun debate, I tend to be extremely blunt."

"Well, I look forward to it." Picard smiled, his surprise fading into a quick acceptance.

"You'll have to find me in a neutral place. Probably these ferengi I keep reading about." I snorted.

"I would be careful with the ferengi..." Picard said, obviously not trying to be to overt about his statement.

"Tom Paris has 'warned' me about them." I rolled my eyes. "Thankfully my view of peoples and cultures tends to go beyond surface views."

"Hirogen." Janeway tried to counter.

"They tried to take me and the hive. They earned the hate." I shot back.

"Hirogen are the hunter race, correct?" Picard tried to clarify, I waited to see if there was a hint of knowledge about the yautja, but his face merely remained curious.

"Yes." Janeway replied flatly, no hint of annoyance or desire to point out my own hypocrisy. The back of my neck began to itch, but I wasn't about to accuse Janeway of betraying the clan.

"Well, I suspect every culture does it to another in some capacity. We can't know every single person so the generalizations occur." Picard sighed. "Believe me I'd much rather they didn't, but such seems to be the nature of any society and I hope one day Vile, you can come to see the Federation isn't evil."

"Never said it was Picard." I coiled my tail absent-mindedly as the conversation began to bore me with an alarming speed. "I just refuse to be an experiment and I would disappear if I tried to pick up where I could have left off. Because believe me, if I could spend my time poking holes in the Federation philosophy I would, but I've got bigger things to worry about."

I sat back down and locked eyes with Picard once more. "Seven tells me the Collective is ceaseless voices and constant burying of the personality. The Hive is far worse, the voice of the queen is all one hears and her voice is all that matters and so powerful your past becomes what she wants it to be. You become a dark mockery of what you were and you enjoy your enslavement, you bow to her wishes no matter how depraved they may be and if you break free you still remember the joy it gave you." A momentary silence filed the room as Picard's face went from disturbed to concerned and then finally a small smirk.

"I think I understand." Picard's smile grew a little, a small hint of sadness and regret lined it as if he had to force it in order not to break. "Just make sure not to become Ahab on your journey, I've been there it's not fun."

I only gave a heavy chuckle in response before I stood and turned to leave.

I was at the door when I spoke. "Janeway, tell the admirals I lost interest when I found the only person in the Alpha Quadrant I care to know." I heard her mutter something to Picard and the man laughed as I left. Picard I wasn't too sure about, but he knew what it meant to hate something to the core of your being and that was enough for now.


	7. Prophecy and Vision Part 1

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores, the other Hybrids and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

**Prophecy and Vision Part 1**

A few days after my chat with Picard I walked the corridors of _Voyager _with more care than I had previously done in the past, it was something I was only now beginning to notice as I curled my tail closer to my body and held my claws behind my back so as not to take up to much room. It was that thought that made me stop where I was and laugh aloud, drawing the attention of several crewman who merely blinked at me and returned to their work as if nothing odd had happened. It was a nice feeling. Also a fleeting one as everyone in the corridor was immediately rocked when something hit the ship and the red alert rose.

I saw a crewman prone on the floor, blood freely rushing from his head and an impact spot on the wall clearly showing where he had struck it. I slammed my palm against the wall and held myself there as the ship rocked. I remember shouting at the computer for an emergency transport and the body shimmered away. Then I made my way to the shuttle bay and ordered the team to be ready for boarding measures, I wasn't going to let Leto get his claws into this ship.

"Belay that." Janeway's voice countered me and I felt a growl come over me. "It's not them Vile. It's Klingons."

My brain froze for a moment.

"D-did you just say what I think you said?" I was dumbfounded, but noticed that the ship was no longer taking damage.

"Yes, and their leader has just agreed to a peaceful visit, so be on your best behavior." Janeway was in full captain mode and she left the coms at that.

"What the hell are the Klingons doing out here?!" I shouted to no one as the corridor was empty of all save for myself.

"_Information unavailable."_ The computer's blank female tone responded. That was the moment the computer and I seemed to declare war on each other and I found myself capable of only glaring at the speakers hidden along the ceiling. I then trudged off to see what I could help with.

I spent the next hour in the Sick-bay as a minor aid to the Doctor and Paris. Apparently I had picked up enough in my odd visits that I knew what some of the things they needed were and this attack resulted in more than a few injuries, one of them being 'Lina who seemed to glare at me whenever I tried to help or check the burns in her uniform. I eventually gave up and just handed her a dermal generator to fix a cut on her forehead.

"Stop fussing." She almost snapped at me.

"I'm handing you a dermal generator, not coddling you." I snapped back.

"You're fine save for the small laceration." The Doctor dismissed a patient and wandered over. "Ensign, that is a serious laceration on your forehead, why didn't you let Vile work on it?"

"I'm just more comfortable with the Doctor doing it." She gave a faux smile that even the Doctor had to roll his eyes at.

"Ok, fine I get it. I'm gonna go pester Paris. He's been stress free for a while." I snorted as I left the corner of the sick-bay.

"Oh god what did I do now?" Paris asked as I approached, no panic was in his tone, which made it even funnier to hear.

"Nothing, need help?" I snorted with a laugh.

"That." Paris pointed to a tool, I couldn't recall it's name but it was used to set bones, and I grabbed it and handed it off to him. "Thank you." He began his work.

"Hey Tom, you sure I'm ok?" The Lieutenant on the table asked, I think his name was Baxter, and Tom just rolled his eyes. Today seemed to be the day of the eye rolling medics.

"Yeah you'll be fine, but seriously, your workout couldn't have had worse timing." Tom sighed as he finished and dismissed the Lieutenant and then turned to me. "Think we're getting crowded here Blue."

I snorted and stepped back into a corner. "Blue, huh?"

"I don't like calling someone by a name that doesn't really fit them." Paris said. "You're a mean S.O.B. When you need to be, but not 'vile'. Has a hell of an intimidation factor though."

"Yeah, no one seems to care about that though." I snorted.

"Well we got to know you." He snorted back. "The crazy, moody, violently explos..." He stopped. "You got any klingon blood in you?" He smirked

"Oh, ha-ha." I rolled my eyes. "And I suppo..." I was cut off my a red alert and Tom being called to the bridge. He left immediately and the Doctor and I onl exchanged a worried glance.

"Doctor to the Bridge, are the Klingon's attacking again?" The Doctor seemed to read my mind.

"_No Doctor, but be prepared for klingon injured, their core is going critical." _ It was Harry who responded.

"Christ!" I jumped from my corner and sprang for the door only to find the world spinning. "Fuck me..."

"Oh no.." I heard the Doctor say as I fell back.

"Why can I never leave here without bla..." And then I blacked out, the exhaustion of my body's overdrive coming to it's end.

8888====8888====8888====8888

"Well hello there Sick-bay ceiling, how are you today?" I grumbled as I woke up, unsure as to how long I had been passed out and greeted by a familiar sight.

"One day, three hours and forty..." The Doctor peered over my head. "Eight minutes."

"Is it sad that you know exactly what I'm going to ask or sad that we have a routine?" I sighed.

"I'm going to go with both." He smiled as I sat up. "Doctor to the Captain." He activated the coms.

"_Is he awake?"_ Janeway sounded absolutely exasperated.

"He is." I groaned. "I feel like I went five rounds with a Praetorian though."

"_I'll be right down with a guest."_ She said.

"Can we meet in the mess hall, I need food badly." I grumbled, my stomach followed.

"He does need to eat captain." The Doctor said as he scanned me.

"_All right, get something to eat, but remain calm we have klingon guests."_ Janeway said. _"Notify me when you've eaten."_

"Yeah no problem." I groaned.

"Now then." The Doctor smiled, but it faded to concern. "How bad is the pain."

"Body aches, overworked muscles and such." I waved him away as I stood up.

"One day I'll figure out how your body has endo and exo skeletal structures and muscles." He sighed. "I can't really give anything to you for the pain, but don't overwork yourself and try not claw anyone's face off or I'll order you confined to your quarters to recover."

I chuckled at the thought. "Yeah and I'll listen to that how well?"

"I'll have Tuvoc escort you." The Doctor glared at me.

"All right Doc, just a joke." I sighed.

"Right now I wouldn't joke about your health, now go eat." He sighed in return. "And please, please keep your temper in check."

"I'll do my best Doc." I smiled. I didn't think it would be that hard. It turns out I am an idiot.

I wandered the halls on my way to the mess hall and saw a few klingons talking with the crew, none of them seemed hostile until I appeared in their sight, but the crew would immediately put them at ease. That was an even better feeling than the previous day's.

I entered the mess hall to a feeling of ordered chaos and the back of my neck began to itch, and a few crewmen saw me scratch it. The looks on their faces were priceless as they went to stand, but I motioned for them to stay put. They did not look too confident about that but stayed.

Neelix motioned me over with an excited wave. I saw harry and Chell in what looked to be modified uniforms, standing near. My arrival at least caused them to smile.

"What's with the new get up?" I yawned.

"New uniform regulations, and the klingons provided some raw material for us to re-purpose." Harry explained. "Our team and the Bridge crew get the first sets."

"Nice, and what do you have Neelix?" I smiled, hoping it was meat.

"You're gonna regret that." Chell sighed.

"Gagh." Neelix said with a smile he plopped what looked like a mutated plate of spaghetti and meatballs using live worms for the noodles onto a plate and handed it to me. "Real bloodworms too!"

"Yay?" I looked at Harry who merely smiled.

I shrugged and made my way to one of the corners I used ad sat at the table and sampled the new meal carefully. To my delight the food was indeed alive and tasty and I finished it in mere moment and let my stomach settle. Then I heard the sounds of a fight and saw why Harry and Chell were here as they moved into break up the fight between a female klingon and her subordinate.

"Come on break it up!" Harry managed to push the female away and I she stopped her advance, only to cock her head to the side and respond with.

"You would make a good mate." I couldn't see her face, but Harry's paled expression told me all I needed to. Harry's luck struck again.

"No thank you." he said calmly with a smile. She grabbed his shoulder and forced him into place. I stood up and the crew of _Voyager_ left the mess hall in a semi-panicked hurry.

"Oh crap." Harry sighed.

"I'd leave him be." I growled from where I stood.

"Look at the beast Ch'rega, it speaks!" He subordinate laughed.

"Well I know who you are." I grumbled as I strode easily over to the klingon.

"Oh, and who am I?" He asked right before my fist sent him sailing into the air for moment before he landed on his knees.

"The demonstration." I growled.

Harry winced as the klingon stood up, barely able to walk straight. "Harry, I think I'm gonna be in my quarters on Doctor's orders, keep the others in line."

I turned to the female klingon. "You better learn that no means no 'little miss' or the next time we meet will be violent and bloody. You don't mess with my team, you don't mess with this crew, because your little friend there, didn't even cause me to break a sweat." She smiled at me, a creepy smile that seemed to say 'challenge accepted'. My guess wasn't far off and from Harry's expression he knew that.

8888====8888====8888====8888

An hour later my door chimed and Janeway walked in.

"Twenty minutes." Janeway sighed. "I think that's new personal record for you."

"I'm going for five next time." I snickered, but straightened out. "He said the wrong thing and I won't apologize."

"I'm not asking you too, by all accounts you did the the only thing _you_ could have." She sighed, seemingly acknowledging just how different I was from the rest of the crew, "They should be more respectful of you now, I was just hoping to avoid a fight to establish respect for you."

"Hah!" I barked. "Janeway, remember who you're talking to, I'd love to butt foreheads with these guys, but if you want me to play nice I'll do my best." I couldn't help but snicker a little.

"Thank you." She sighed a deep sigh of relief.

"Also, I just don't have the ridges to compete."

She laughed. "All right that's, that's a good one."

"So what's the deal?" I asked

"Torres' unborn child maybe their Messiah." Janeway sighed. "They self destructed their ship to follow her."

"Klingon Jesus..." I blinked. "Huh..."

"I want you keeping pace with B'elanna, shadow here if you have to." Janeway did her effortless shift into captain mode.

"Bad element in the mix?" I asked.

"Not entirely, they're just going to be a handful until we find a place to settle them." She sighed. "We also need to have officers double up on bunks while they're here."

"Harry can bunk here if he likes." I offered.

"Thank you, I'll pass the offer, though not Flores?" She asked.

"Good Christ!" I almost shouted, "We're not even sure about each other, hell yesterday she was trying to snap my head off for trying to help her."

"I know, I shouldn't be teasing." Janeway smiled, "But some good news..." She stepped back outside and grabbed a few short cases. "They're done."

She sat the cases on my table and opened them for me to see the new "uniform" that had been made for me, all three variants. I looked them all over and took up the shoulder one first to try on. It fit snugly and let me have a near full rang of movement while providing impact protection for my shoulder.

"Harry's proud of that." Janeway smiled.

"Speaking of Harry, how's he handling his admirer?" I smiled.

"As best he can, but she's persistent." Janeway sighed.

"Warn her commander about me." I said flatly.

"Oh he knows about you, refuses to meet you now that you nearly put one of his people through a ceiling." Janeway laughed.

"Oh come on, he walked it off, didn't even have to see the Doc about it." I scoffed as I tried on the utility harness, it too was snug, but allowed for a full range of movement. It would feel good in the water. "It was a love tap."

"I tried explaining that to him." Her sigh deepened. "Unfortunately stories got to him first, so now you're _Voyager_'s trained attack beast to him."

I didn't hide the growl.

"I know I told him to advise not using that word, he said he'd 'take it under advisement'." Janeway rolled her eyes, "Other than that he's a very agreeable klingon. His second in command however..."

"I'm getting that itchy feeling again." I snorted.

"You mean like the one you had entering the mess hall?" Janeway laughed. "Honestly we should probably pay attention to those."

"Probably should, but won't." I laughed as I put on the gauntlet communicator. I let my hand stretch the material as my claws passed between the finger holds.

"How's that one feel?" she asked, a small prideful smile on her face.

"Makes me feel..." I held the arm up and flexed my claws a bit. "...violent..."

"Not what I wanted to hear." Janeway sighed.

"I know." I smiled. "It's a good fit though. Thank you." I bowed my head. "Where's the com-badge though?"

"This one has everything built in, even a small tricorder, it can also go to depths of about thirty meters." Janeway tapped on the control panel, and part of the screen slid out to be a tricorder.

"Nice." I said, excitement for my new toy filled me. "What can it detect?"

"Life-signs, including xenomorph and every crew member, dilitihum and can function as a basic medical tricorder." She seemed as happy as I was excited.

"Right then." I put the tricorder back into place. "When do I report to B'elanna?"

"You don't." Janeway said. "I want you in the tubes and shadows, keeping tabs on her, come out only if needed."

"Observation and prevention?" I looked over the orders on my communicator. "It's a pad too?"

"Mini one." She continued to smile.

"All right, but if they cross a line, I'm making myself known." I warned.

"That's what I want, you're the invisible security net, she knows you'll be around so listen carefully for the word 'banana popsicle', it's her duress word and you are authorized to use any means to keep her safe."

"I'd rather not use lethal means with them." I said, an odd feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

"Now that's something I'm happy to hear you say." She gave an even brighter smile.

"It's not that I won't if I have to Janeway, but these people have a belief that's so strong they blew up their ship to protect and follow Torres' kid, that's a scary amount of dedication and lethal violence could be a very bad mix." I explained.

"Agreed." Janeway shifted back to business. "Just keep in mind I don't want you putting yourself at risk either." She went to the door and left with a wave and a bow.

I smirked to myself as I fidgeted with my new gauntlet communicator. It felt more than right, it felt like it belonged there. I felt like I belonged there.

-9999-9999-

**AN: If you're curious about the discrepancies about the usage of "PADD" vs pad, Vile has no clue how it's actually spelled, he's only heard it spoken so he naturally assumes a sensible connection to the existing word of "pad".**


	8. Prophecy and Vision Part 2

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores, the Hybrids and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Prophecy and Vision Part II**_

"You there?" B'elanna seemingly asked of the air around her at her workstation.

A small sigh from an open Jeffery's Tube told her that her "invisible" guardian was near bye.

"Thanks for doing this." she sighed. "This insanity is close to driving me over the edge."

"Klingon Jesus..." Vile's voice echoed with a light snicker.

"Oh you're getting a kick out of this too?" B'elanna shook her head. "I was hopping at least one person would see it from my point of view."

"Oh yeah because I couldn't possibly understand wanting to avoid people who won't leave me be." He stuck his head out of the tube. "They're still out there I take it?" He jerked a thumb to the lower section of engineering.

B'elanna merely nodded and Vile crawled out of the tube.

"I don't think I can do hidden here." He smiled and leaned back against a bare portion of the wall.

"I figured as much, even you can only stay in a tube for so long." B'elanna smiled.

"Hey, those things are comfortable as hell." Vile snorted with a slightly offended tone. "At least compared to the old ship anyway..." His voice trailed off and B'elanna saw a distant look form in his eyes, one she recognized.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean..." He raised his clawed hand with a slight smile.

"Don't worry. For once it was kind of a good memory..." He gave a weak smile.

"Oh really?" B'elanna challenged him. "Care to share?"

"Actually, I kinda do want to..." He walked over to the railing and sat with his legs dangling over the edge. "We used to play around in engineering after the crash, our parents would scream at us whenever they found out, but that's where all the best hiding spots were so we kept playing there."

"Ah, engine room hide and seek." B'elanna smiled. "You teach that to my kid without me and I beat you to death with your own spine."

Vile's face twisted into a confused look and then finally broke into full laughter. "Deal." He agreed.

B'elanna then sat next to him, but did not dangle her feet over the edge. "How many kids were there before the crash?"

Vile stopped and looked at her for a moment. "You know, you're the only one to ask that question in just that way."

"I figured as much." B'elanna crossed her arms. "The captain won't let anyone short of the Doctor access files on the ship, hell I don't even know it's name."

"There were twenty kids before the crash, _The Grand Run_ was our home, it became a death sentence for eight of us." The distant look returned to Vile's eyes.

"I'm sorry." B'elanna said, trying to apologize for even bringing the subject up.

"Don't be." Vile said softly. "Questions like that, I think they help me remember the good, force me to think about what I don't want to normally."

"Well next time, I won't bring it up during a work shift." B'elanna smiled as she went to stand. Vile noticed and stood up faster and offered his hand to help her up. "Thanks."

"My best friend was a Vulcan boy named T'kreth." Vile smiled. "I just remembered that, so don't apologize again, ok?"

"No problem." B'elanna returned the smiled just as a red ball smashed into Vile's face, ricocheted off and landed back on the lower section.

"Ok, touching moment over." Vile whipped his body around to look over the railings. "If that wasn't a kid there's going to be blood." Vile growled.

"Who threw that?" She asked, noting a solitary klingon male now holding the red ball.

"The hell?" Vile shrieked, "Wasn't me almost putting you in the ceiling of the mess hall enough of a lesson? Get the hell out of here before I se-" Vile barely managed to catch the ball that was tossed at him by the same klingon. He cast a glance to B'elanna as if to ask if she knew what was going on.

"Don't ask me." She admitted.

"Ok, so dodgeball it is." Vile smiled as he whipped the red ball back at the Klingon's chest. It hit so hard and so fast that the male was left gasping for air. "Get the hell out of here you moron!" He watched as two security members helped him up and out of engineering.

"Wow..." Vile sighed as he watched the man get taken away. "Seriously, wow."

"I think you made a friend." B'elanna smiled.

"Oh joy." Vile's tone could only be described a being desert like, dry and it wanted to kill. "How the hell did that idiot get in here anyway?" He looked about for any entrance he missed.

8888-8888-8888-8888

The day passed with little to no more interference from the klingons, but B'elanna had to transport herself to out of engineering after her shift thanks to the mob of obsessed klingons. I found it kind of funny until I left engineering and saw just how many were waiting for her.

"Back off." I let the low growl rumble across my chest as I arched my tail. The mob back off and dispersed with little hesitation, but their eyes held daggers for me.

From there I made my way to Lina's quarters where she was helping Anderson in her latest recovery exercises. I was greeted with an underwhelming amount of enthusiasm and I could sense a powerful dread in the air but I couldn't tell from what or where. I sat in a corner of their quarters, calmly chatting and prodding Anderson until she eventually stopped and stood up. She stretched and the noticed me gazing at Lina. I caught her smile just as fast.

"So I'm gonna go see the Doc, see how much longer I have to do this stuff for." She straightened her clothes out and left. "You two have fun."

"Do they think we're stupid or something?" Lina asked with a sigh.

"How many times do I have to say it Lina, this ship erodes anyone's ability to understand or display subtlety." I scoffed with a roll of my eyes.

"You still mad about the..." I cut her off.

"Lina, you have to do a lot to make me mad. You specifically have to do more than most." I snorted, but softened when I saw tears form in her eyes. "What?"

"Thanks." She sniffled.

"What was that about anyway?" I had an inkling of a clue, but did not want o assume.

"I don't know how comfortable I am talking about it..." She sniffled some more.

"Hey, no problem." I smiled. "Everything in it's own ti-" I was cut off this time as a message from Janeway came through my com.

"_Vile, if you're not to busy could you meet B'elanna, the Klingon Elders and I?"_ She asked, a line of desperation in her voice.

"Can I punch anyone that calls me a beast?" I asked sincerely.

"_Nevermind."_ I could hear the exasperation in her voice.

"Yeah, I heard some are actually afraid of you." Lina snickered.

"Smooth change of subject."

"It's touchy." She said. "Scars from Bajor I guess you could call them."

"You mean the occupation from Cardassia?" I asked her eyes narrowed and flickered in anger, but not at me. "I've been reading the databases on off days."

"Yeah." She said simply.

"Trust me on this Lina, scars never vanish, they'll always be there. It's how you choose to remember them that matters." I casually brushed the jagged scar on the back of my skull before I stood and left, but not before leaving her with a small peck on her forehead. It surprised both of us and I was soon fleeing down the halls out of my own childish fears.

I managed to meet Janeway, B'elanna, Tom and Tuvok on their way to meet the elders. I gave a wicked smile as I fell into their group's stride and went with them. For a moment B'elanna seemed to regard my presence as a good thing. Then we got to the doors outside the elders and a very familiar face was sneering at me; the same klingon idiot from engineering and the mess hall.

"Oh no." B'elanna was only able to get those words out before the fool charged me. I let him run into my fist and fall to the ground grabbing his nose. The four Starfleet officers all turned to look at me in disbelief, though Tuvok's look was honestly more of the usual Vulcan arched eyebrow.

"What?" I asked as the all stared. "He's an idiot, not even half a considerable threat." I heard the klingon groan. "Go see the Doctor you moron."

He shouted at me as he left, dizzily wandering down the hall, holding his nose and jaw.

"Let's continue, shall we?" Janeway sighed.

"Please." B'elanna sighed.

We entered the darkened room, which honestly felt kind of like a tomb, where the elders were chanting something that either couldn't or wasn't allowed to be translated. I let the four proceed ahead of me and have their own conversation, but Janeway motioned me into the light, I merely arched my head part way into it to let their minds wander to what was hiding in the darkness.

"Yes, your attack beast." The Klingon leader sneered at me.

"Call me beast again and I'll crush your skull so fast you won't have time recognize just how right you are." I growled, the klingons stood up, their second in command smiling and ready for a fight. He was to easy to pick out, he wore his authority like it was all that mattered and he stunk of foolish aggression.

"Calm down Vile." Janeway snapped at me, more aggressive than normal when she was attempting to keep me from violence. Then she turned to the klingon leader. "Vile's not an attack beast, he is however violent, temperamental and territorial at best."

"And at his worst?" The second asked.

"Manic, depressive, mentally unstable and a threat to everything on this ship." I stood straight and walked into the full light. The klingons took a step back save for their leader.

"You injured one of my people." Their leader snapped.

"He chose his words poorly and I'm not Starfleet." I growled.

"Clearly." He snapped back in a dry, unimpressed tone. He was starting to be fun.

"Then he threw a red ball at me while I was keeping an eye on B'elanna and tried to charge me out in the hall just now. He's an idiot and if he tries that shit again I may have to rip his arms off in the hopes he gets the message from that."

The klingon leader paused for a moment, seemingly finally taking in that I was not going to be pushed around or let anyone establish any sort of dominance over me. He nodded and then spoke. "The B'aht Qul challenge will serve you best should he be foolish to try something again, he should not bother you after."

"Captain Kholar, Vile is a mutation of one of the single most deadly species of parasitoids I've ever seen and one of the few reasons he's with us is to stop the ship of them that escaped the world we found him on." Janeway explained. "He's been granted several of my crew to train in case special combat needs arise."

"He is a warrior." Kholar's glance turned back to me.

"A very brave and strong one, dedicated to this crew just as anyone else is, and he won't always abide our rules to keep us safe." Janeway seemed to half glare at me.

"If they made sense half the time I would." I snorted.

"I see." Kholar nodded. "Forgive me, Vile. I thought you merely an attack beast with the head of a human."

"You aren't far off." I leaned against the wall. "Instincts and training along with close to two hundred and twenty years of paranoia are what's kept me alive for the longest time." I spoke and began to see what Janeway was doing. "Your people got something stupidly noble about them, I respect that. However, if anyone presents a threat to anyone of this crew, I will end them without hesitation or mercy." My eyes settled on the second in command, and the back of my neck began to itch.

"I suspect the tales of your life would entertain us for some time, or make us weep." Kholar said, I nodded and left them to their main conversation.

As I left though I noticed Harry, surrounded by the team as they worked their way down the halls.

"What the hell are you idiots doing?" I almost shouted.

"Oh no..." I heard Harry sigh, then I was pushed into a wall as the klingon woman who had set her eyes on Harry pushed past me. Thankfully when I stood up I saw the team working together to successfully help Harry evade his admirer. I let a huge smile creep over my face as I opened a Jeffery's Tube and crawled in. I couldn't let them have all the fun, now could I?

After the lovely chase Harry gave the klingon officer I returned to my quarters where I found him catching his breath and hiding behind a chair. My door buzzed and he remained still, but I opened it to find Lt. Carey with sever cases.

"I'm not triple bunking." I snorted.

"I know." Carey sighed, "But I got Baxter and the man is a walking black hole of property damage."

He held up a case and opened it to reveal a model ship in a bottle. I let out an impressed whistle and let him in, we not have liked each other that much, but he was skilled and loyal so hearing him out was something I could do.

"I have six models, can I ask you to keep them here while we have our guests?"

"Sure, my closet's pretty empty." I said as I helped pick up the cases, he made sure to grab them and put them down gently.

"How do they not break during attacks?" I asked.

"Very precise placement in my room." Carey sighed. "Thank you Vile, something told me I could trust you on this."

I snorted. "Really?"

"We had a rough start, but you're skilled and loyal, that's earned my respect I think." He stood and held out his hand for shake. I took it and gave him a long gaze.

"Right, just don't go soft on me Carey, you're the kind of hard ass B'elanna needs to help keep engineering in line." I squeezed his hand a bit tighter and he returned the squeeze.

"You know he can crush skulls with those things, right Carey?" Harry called out from behind his hiding spot.

"Really?" Carey peered around me. "She's still after you?"

"I hate my life sometimes." Harry sighed.

"Aw, Harry it isn't that bad." I smiled. "She could be cornering you and forcing herself on you."

"You aren't kidding." Harry leaned back and sighed.


	9. Prophecy and Vision Part 3

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores, the Hybrids and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Prophecy and Vision Part III**_

The next few days I was relieved of my duty of guarding B'elanna, but I was put back into engineering until she was done helping Kholar go over the scrolls. Janeway said something about trying to convince the unbelievers in the klingons that B'elanna and her kid were who Kholar claimed. There was even going to be a dinner where she would be telling boastful stories of her battles and glories. I was almost ready to beg B'elanna for an invite, but I had to wander into the Doctor just as Harry wandered in with a cut on his face.

"Don't ask." He said as I went to speak.

"And what seems to be the problem Harry?" The Doctor asked.

"Cut myself... shaving." He removed the bloody tissue and I saw his "cut" was a bite mark.

"Bullshit." I said, The Doctor glared at me for a moment.

"Crude, but accurate." The Doctor said. "This is a bite mark ens- Lieutenant, part of a klingon mating ritual if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah well if I could get a woman twice my size to listen to me I wouldn't have this problem." Harry snapped, slightly annoyed. "Tell me you know of some options."

"As I understand it you have two options, kill her or mate with her and since the first option is unacceptab..." The Doctor stopped as my growling grew in the room.

"That better not be what I think..." I almost did not recognize my own voice.

"It's authorization for in..." I was leaning over the Doctor.

"That is unacceptable." I growled and stormed out to find the source of the problem.

It took me all of five minutes to do so by following the Jeffery's Tubes and vents of the ship. I was very surprised to find Harry and several security members speaking with her, trying to get her to follow them. She seemed to listen, but she refused to follow anyone but Harry. Then she grabbed his shoulder.

The next thing I knew I was bursting out of the ceiling and wrapping my tail around the klingon's throat and squeezing. I shouted at the top of my lungs, roared and hissed while I slammed her into the walls. Then I felt a sudden pinch on my neck and stumbled, gasping for air and letting my muscles relax against my own will. I collapsed in time to see Tuvok bend down and check my vitals.

It took a few moments, but the pinch wore off and my head pounded as I flipped myself against the wall and watched my own team with their phasers on me. I growled but stood quickly and followed Tuvok silently to the brig where he sealed me in. My team for their part stayed with me, keeping their eyes on me.

"What the hell where you screaming about?" Harry asked.

"I was screaming?" I asked, I remembered doing so but not about what.

"So another episode." Harry sighed. "Yes you were screaming. 'Don't touch her!' among other things, which if you meant me, thanks for the confidence boost."

I looked around for a moment before looking at my hands. In my head I saw my human hands, only the size of a child's and covered in blood. I felt my knees hit the floor and I began to scream. I'm not sure when I stopped but the Janeway was sitting outside.

"Mind explaining?" She asked, I saw Kholar standing not to far away.

"I wish I could." I admitted. "I think I killed one of the officers when I was a kid, other than that..."

"Captain Kholar wanted to ask you something." Janeway nodded and he walked over.

"Whatever grievance you have with Officer Ch'rega, I ask that you let it die so that she need not." Kholar seemed to be begging. "We already have one duel to the death, I do not wish to see another."

"Ok..." I stood up. "First, tell her to back off of Harry and I won't have to kill her. Two, how long have I been out, followed by what fucking duel to the death?"

"You've been screaming non-stop for six hours." Janeway sighed. "You only recently stopped, that's why we were here. As for the duel, I'm not planning on letting Tom fight in it."

"Ok, but what duel?" I asked.

"This is something you should discuss with your subordinate Captain." Kholar said with a nod.

"Agreed." Janeway sighed, then they both walked off.

"Hey!" I shouted in anger. "What fucking duel to the death? And when do I get let out?"

No one responded, not even the Brig's usual guard.

"FUCK!" I shouted as I sat on the ground and poked at the force field and used my claws to draw odd shapes in it.

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I was finally let out of my first official visit to the brig a few hours later by Tuvok himself. Much to my annoyance, he too had questions I could not answer.

"Fascinating." He said in comment to my description of my human hands covered in blood. "I wonder, Mr. Vile, if you may have some repressed memory that may have been triggered."

"Well then who the hell was the 'she' I was screaming about?" I asked as I rubbed my neck.

"Are you still experiencing pain from the nerve pinch?" He inquired in his usual blank tone.

"No, just itches..." I grumbled. "By the way, that sucked worst than a beam weapon, couldn't breathe for a moment there."

"My apologies, I was not sure what effect if any it would have on you, but the threat you represented at the time was significant."

"No worries Tuvok." I groaned and shook my head. "Still a bit foggy, but I think that's from the blacking out."

"A very real possibility, still I would suggest seeking the Doctor's help. The pinch may have lingering effects on your unique physique." He said as he handed my com-glove to me.

"Wow, forgot I took that off. When did I take that off?" I blinked.

"During your attempts to strangle Officer Ch'rega. You tossed it at the security detail and began to scream about 'her'."

"Wow, I need my head checked." I sighed. "Sucks you don't have one of them betazoids on board." I laughed.

"We did at one time." Tuvok's face didn't move an inch, but I could sense I hit a nerve.

"Sorry, must have been a good officer I guess." I sighed.

"He was in fact a murder, still he gave his life to save the crew." Tuvok admitted. "He was loyal."

"Loyalty's all we have out here Tuvok." I stood and went to leave the brig, but I turned back to him. "It's nice, I guess, to know that no one questions that about me anymore."

"It should interest you to know then, Mr. Vile, that I have not questioned your loyalty at all since your arrival." Tuvok said as he joined me in stride.

"No, just my sanity, right?" I laughed.

"Your mental stability actually, something I still keep an eye on." Tuvok nodded as he turned down a different hall.

"Tuvok." I called out before he got to far away. He stopped and turned to look at me. "Thanks." He nodded and then continued on his way.

I then made my way to Sickbay where I walked in on the doctor talking to Janeway, Tom and B'elanna. There was also an unconscious klingon second in command on a table in the back of the room. Whatever they had been talking about though stopped as I entered.

"One moment..." The Doctor came over and scanned me. "Odd, you have signs of the Nehret, but the xenomorph immune system simply eradicated it."

"You know I'm just gonna throw up my arms and walk out right now..." I sighed.

"Also elevated blood pressure." The Doctor said. "Sit on the table I'll be with you in a moment."

"Listen, I c-"

"Sit." The Doctor ordered. Something in my made me listen, much to my chagrin and his delight.

"Can you synthesize a cure?" Janeway asked.

"No, the xenomorph immune system destroys anything that attempts to infect it." The Doctor sighed. "Now if you'll excuse me Captain."

"Of course." Janeway left and seemed to motion for me to follow. I went to get up, but the Doctor merely pointed at the table. I glanced at Janeway and she rolled her eyes and nodded.

Then the Doctor scanned B'elanna and the little klingon Jesus. His face never lightened and in fact seemed to get grimmer.

B'elanna spoke up. "The baby too?"

"Yes." The Doctor nodded solemnly.

My mind then began to put some of the pieces together. Something was wrong with the Klingons and they brought it on board and now B'elanna and her kid were infected. Tom was visibly stunned and I could feel my blood boiling to a very bloody desire, but I focused myself onto not flying into a rage and let the Doctor talk. I even manged to suppress the desire to rip apart the second in command when he woke up and stormed out, after B'elanna nearly ripped his head off though. There was a moment of dark silence after that.

"Say the word B'elanna, just one word and they're dead." I growled.

"No." The Doctor snapped a finger at me, and I snapped back to a little bit of reality. "No killing klingons."

"Sorry?" I asked, confused.

"You just said for me to give the word." B'elanna said, "You had the scariest look in your eyes too."

"Wow, what is wrong with me?" I asked. "I mean I know I said something..."

The Doctor scanned me again. "Something is broadcasting to you."

"Broadcasting to me." I paled. "Like the hive?"

"I doubt that, this is a very unique telepathic signature." The Doctor said. "The Hive's control is pheromonal and very minimally telepathic. They wouldn't even be able to reach you unless they were right alongside us."

"So someone's telepathically provoking me or something?"

"Some-" The Doctor stopped talking. "Vile, be prepared to loose con-"

I blacked out again. It seemed to be the choice of the day, but what I 'awoke' to was a horror beyond words.

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Leto cracked the walls of his black prison and stepped forth before his mate, Jeht and the new member of their small group. He looked down upon their terrified countenances as he towered above them in his new body. He stood nine feet tall and merely crashed through the window and into the Queen's chamber. He smiled and growled as he neared her, part of the hive again, but still something more.

He bowed before the queen who hissed in pleasure and contentment and then he rose, extending his claws and ripping the Queen's skull from her body. The drones all began to charge, but stopped as they felt Leto's mind wrap around theirs and drive them into a frenzy. The quickly turned upon one another and soon only the eggs remained.

"Leto, my love." Praenuntius gasped as she climbed into the nest. "What have you become?"

"A leader." His voice now boomed, deep and foreboding. "A general to the new race we all will birth." He turned to the other hybrids aboard the ship, who without a queen to guide them were left confused and nearly feral. "Bow to me my fellow hybrids and I will lead you to a world fresh with life and opportunity. Bow to me and I will give you purpose!"

The hybrids bowed, one by one the bent their knees to him and swore in words only they knew, their loyalty to Leto. He then turned to his mate, walked back the office he had left and grabbed another of the containers of the black.

"Join me my love, my Queen. Our Queen." His voice echoed and squirmed like an eel.

"Make me as you would desire my love." He broke the black ooze over her and let it drip down. Then he turned to a corner where no on stood and spoke. "I've let you see this brother, now you know and now you will fear us more than the hive. Now you will know true terror. Vile, a horrible name for one who can't even admit how much he clings to protecting others, but apt for one who turns from his true race!"

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I woke up, looking at the usual ceiling.

"Two hours." The Doctor said flatly.

"We're fucked." I said in return.

"Oh?" Janeway asked. "Explain, because the Doctor just found good news about the Nehret."

"Lemme guess Klingon Jesus saves the day?" I grunted.

"How'd you know?" Janeway blinked.

"She's klingon Jesus." I snorted. "But we got problems on the Leto front." I groaned. "He found the Black, he's changed himself and Praenuntius. Worse he's got a ship of hybrids and killed the Queen."

"That's not good." Janeway admitted.

"Oh it gets better. I think I recognized one of the hybrids as my least favorite wanna be hunter."

"The one you scarred? Lovely, no wonder they've been able to follow us, they're likely using a Hirogen ship." Janeway sighed in disbelief.

"Possibly." I admitted, "But that means we need new tactics and that's gonna take me a bit to come up with something."

"Work with the team, consult Tuvok." Captain's voice this time, she was getting as fed up as I was.

"And the klingons." I said as I stood up. Janeway glanced at me. "They know how to fight, insights might be nice."

"Right, well I'm going back tot he bridge..." Janeway sighed. "Maybe get some coffee."

"Well Doc, it's been a ride." I walked out the door and managed to tone out the Doctor shouting for me as I wandered back to my quarters and found Harry smiling in a chair.

"She finally stopped?" I asked.

"Yeah, thanks to Neelix of all people." Harry laughed. "He helped make me look weak, so to speak."

"Seriously?" I snorted in derision. Harry just nodded. "That's messed up." I walked over to my sleeping tank and slipped in. "Computer, fill the tank and drain it in six hours." I yawned as the tank began to fill, I let the relief of the salt water rush over my body. "Harry, when I get up we need a team meeting, invite Kholar for me will you?"

"Sure, what's up?" He asked.

"Shit just went from crap to fucked." I sighed.

"Wow, that bad." He stood up from the chair. "All right, see you in six hours then." He then left the room and me to my sleep.


	10. Prophecy and Vision Part 4

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores, the Hybrids and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Prophecy and Vision Part IV**_

Three hours later I awoke to my sleeping tank draining due to a security alert. I sprang awake and nearly leaped out of the tank. I went to put on my com-glove, but found it wasn't anywhere around. It then occurred to me that I probably left it back in Sickbay after my latest blackout. I grumbled and was about to put on one of other com bandoliers when Janeway's voice came over the coms.

"_Vile, get to the transporter room, a group of klingons are trying to take the ship from there." _

I growled silently to myself as I stormed into the hallway and right into Tuvok's security team.

"Lead the way boss." I snorted, my anger probably quite obvious, though I noticed his eyebrow arch when I called him "boss".

"It is good to see you are still on board." Tuvok nodded as he led on.

"What, they been taking us off the ship?"

"Twenty seven of the crew have been transported to the surface of the planet we are now orbiting." Tuvok said.

"Lovely." I growled as we came to the transporter room door.

Tuvok opened the door with a command and we all entered in time to see a group of klingons transported out, Tuvok fired on the remaining one at the transporter controls and sent him reeling. I'd learned by now that he was going to have a hell of a headache when he woke up. What didn't escape my notice though was that the klingon second in command was in the transported group.

"Son of a bitch." I growled.

"That was T'greth if I am not mistaken." Tuvok confirmed for me.

"Yeah." I sighed. "I really need to start paying closer attention to those itchy feelings."

"While intuition is valuable, I would not advise listening to it to often." Tuvok advised.

"_Bridge to Tuvok."_ Janeway's voice came over the coms. _"The situation is secure, bring our people back." _

"Acknowledged." Tuvok said as he went to the transporter controls.

"_Vile, go check on B'elanna please."_ Janeway's voice was edged with annoyance.

"Right." I grumbled as I left and made my way to engineering, where I found everyone checking on B'elanna.

"Back to work already!" I heard her snap loudly and saw her point to various people. "You all get back to work, I'm fine."

"Don't be too mad B'elanna." I snickered, "People get concerned when their cranky pregnant boss has just been transported to and from an unexplored world."

"Oh quiet you." B'elanna sighed. "What the hell happened?"

"The non-believers got control from what I can tell." I snorted. "They're gonna be so red in the face when they wake up. Well, if I let them."

"Like the Captain would let you." She laughed.

"Yeah, I know..." I sighed. "Seriously though, you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, and you?" She asked.

"I had a backseat to this event." I snickered. "Though I will likely punch that T'greth guy given a chance."

"I meant with Ensign Flores." B'elanna smiled.

"Really?" I arched my eyebrow and shook my head. "Why does everyone have to ask?"

"I don't know about the others, but I ask because I think you're good for each other." She put her hand on my shoulder. "And I don't want friends of mine being lonely and miserable because they screwed up when they should have asked for advice."

I rolled my eyes. "We're moving slowly, but surely." I sighed.

"Ok, just remember I'm here for advice if you need it."

"Remind me, aren't you the same Chief Engineer who failed to identify shit with a tricorder?" I snickered.

"All right who told you that?" Her face turned bright red.

"Your husband." I laughed full on, half of engineering turned to look at us.

"He's a dead man." B'elanna seemed to stare at the door as if trying to command him to appear.

"Oh relax B'elanna." I lightened my laughter. "You're a space brat like me, I'd have done the same thing."

"You too huh?" She was still staring at the door.

"Yeah, mom and dead kept the four of us moving..." I sighed.

"Four?" She asked.

"Sister." I said quietly.

"She must have been your best friend." B'elanna smiled.

"Twins rarely aren't." I smiled. "'Course now she's my worst enemy."

"Ouch." B'elanna didn't even have to ask, she was smart enough to know what I meant. "That... sucks."

"Anyway, I'm gonna go find Harry and see if we can't get our team to have a little meeting with a klingon or two." I sighed, "Got some new stuff to plan for."

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Two hours later I was speaking with Kholar alone in my quarters.

"This room is barren. No trophies, no clan markings..." He grumbled.

"No trophies yet that I could display..." I smiled. "...And if you saw my clan markings you'd probably start screaming and calling me a devil."

He cast a nervous glance at me. "Why did you ask me here?"

"I need klingon insights and combat tactics." I said. "The kind that come from actual experience, not recorded by a computer."

"I see." He sighed. "Well I owe _Voyager_ and her crew a lot, what insights I can provide are yours."

"I don't need yours." I said flatly. "Officer Ch'rega, she fought me and lived, I need her insights."

"Why does the fight with you matter?" He asked, "You may appear as one of these monsters, but I sense the honor in you, you are not a beast."

"There are others like myself." I said, my eyes locked to his. "I need a warrior's insights on how to get past their defenses."

"I will see if she is willing, but insights form that one fight will not help." Kholar said.

I handed him a pad. "That's why I presented this request to Janeway and now you."

"You wish to recruit Ch'rega?" His surprise was obvious. "I thought you hated her."

"I don't like her approach to finding a mate, it set off some repressed memories, but I will always respect a warrior who can get into a fight with me and live."

"I will have to ask her as well." Kholar sighed. "This is a great request you ask of us. Not just a great officer, but one of our women."

"She'll need to study Federation rules..." I rolled my eyes. "...Before Janeway will let her do anything other than train with my team, but she'll have a field commission and the respect due a warrior of her stature."

Kholar laughed. "I love the fact that one of the Federation's own despises their rules."

"I'm not Federation, haven't been for longer than I like to remember." I leaned back into the couch I used as a chair. "I run by a code of honor long though lost the universe." I brushed the hair over my forehead aside and let him catch the smallest glimpse of the scar on mt forehead.

His face became like a rock. "We have seen symbols like that before; we avoid them."

"Smart man." I smiled. "Don't seek them out, don't challenge them."

"What will they do if we ignore your warning?" He asked.

"Remove your new home from existence." I smiled darkly.

He nodded and got up to leave, but turned to me before he left. "I know you are not a beast, but had best be careful no to revel in the darkness in which you live or your death will be pointless."

"All death is pointless." I sneered. "Trust me, I've been there."

After he left, I sat with a bitter taste of an unknown defeat in my mouth. I sat for along for an hour, letting my mind slip into a dark fuzz I knew to be depression. Thankfully a reprieve came when my door chimed.

"Come in." I grumbled.

"You all right?" Lina asked as she cautiously stuck her head in first.

"Yeah." I sighed, "Fighting off the urge to rip apart my room though." She laughed and that got me to smile.

She stepped all the way in and sat next to me, she even rested against my chest. The feeling of the closeness almost sent my head spinning, but it was definitely the type of distraction I needed.

"The Doctor's cleared Lydia for work." She sighed. "Finally."

"Oh good." I let the mischievous snicker play out over the words. "Fun time."

I then began to gently dance my fingers through her hair. She felt soft then, not the usual Federation officer I was used to seeing, it reminded me of the time we spent on the beach. We both sighed and even laughed at the fact we did it in unison.

"So how's work treating you?" She asked.

"Well, when I get back to training I gotta make a whole new program." I explained. "Turns out Leto's trying to make a race of 'us'."

"Scary." Lina shuddered. "How?"

"Besides using the eggs that the Queen he killed left behind; I have no idea." I shrugged. "And there were only maybe fifty eggs I could see."

"See?" She blinked.

"He's telepathic now, or at least partially. I think he found the black and changed himself further." I said as I stood up and went to my replicator. "You want anything?"

"Something to go with the explanation." She sighed.

"Scotch on the rocks it is." I had the machine make it and grabbed my own distilled thermos from a hidden location.

Lina stared at it for a second before smiling. "Of course you do."

"Hey, we all have our vices and desires. Mine happen to be the same." I smiled.

"So simple minded." She laughed as I handed her the fake scotch.

"Har-har." I snorted and poured my own glass. "How are you doing today, I'm sure the klingon uprising must have been huge for you."

"It was interesting, that's for sure." She sighed. "Still, it's nice we found them a place."

"Yeah, how'd you feel about one or two staying behind?" I asked.

"Recruits for your team?" She smiled, "As long as you all don't try to kill each other over dominance, I'm fine with it."

"Might only be the officer that kept chasing Harry, but yeah." I snorted and my door chimed again. "This can only be bad news I sighed as I walked over.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because the best news of the day is sitting on my couch." I smiled at her, no sly grin, no smirk, a genuine smile. She blushed.

Then I opened my door and saw the same klingon idiot who had been hounding me. "REALLY?"

"I will not be dishonored so easily!" He shouted.

"Fine, B'ahet qual!" I shouted back at him.

He looked confused for a moment and even tried to sound out the words. "B'aht Qul?"

"Yeah that." I snapped.

"Very well, where is a table?" He asked.

"Mess hall, one hour." I said as I closed my door on him and turned to Lina.

"Oh boy." She smiled. "He's gonna hate himself in the morning."

"What is this Bat cool anyway?" I asked.

"Let me show you..." She sighed. "At least this is how the holodeck programs explain it..."


	11. Prophecy and Vision Part 5

**Chronicle of the Guardian: Precursor**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**I own only the character of Vile, Catlina Flores, the Hybrids and the Scions **

**Star Trek Voyager is © Paramount**

**Aliens vs Predator is © Fox **

_**Prophecy and Vision Part V**_

The hour Lina took too explain to me the Klingon test of strength came and went just as fast as the actual challenge did. Honestly I don't know what that idiot was trying to prove since all he did was break his arm and burn his forehead. It's not even really worth noting except that I found it hilarious. After that the day mostly crawled along as Voyager's crew helped the Klingon's move into their new world. It was all very boring to me and so I found myself programming in the holodeck.

I spent most of the remaining day there, so when the doors opened and Lina walked in I was very happy. She however looked more distraught than anything else, almost as if something were eating her form the inside. She stayed silent for a moment before standing next to me and clearing her throat as if to announce her presence.

"You might want to get that looked at." I joked.

"Can we talk?" She asked, a seriousness lined her voice, one I knew better to ignore.

"Yeah, let me save this." I quickly saved the templates I had been working on and shut the holodeck down.

"My quarters? Harry left as soon as he was able." I suggested.

"That works." Lina sighed as she followed me through the halls.

We arrived and made ourselves comfortable on my couch. Though she still looked about as wound up as the old clocks I'd seen in museums. She was busy fidgeting around while I merely kept eye contact with her.

"I want you know why I snapped at you." She said, a deep reservoir of courage had to have been dredged up as she spoke since the next part had to have been horrible to even think about.

"I was a born during the occupation." She admitted. "In a camp and the warden, commandant, whatever he was, he did not like having a newborn around. So he punished my mother by carving Cardassian words into my body and letting them scar."

"Well I know one government that's not gonna want me in their space." I said darkly, no hint of humor in my voice.

"Weak and Frail." She said, then she caught the confusion in my eyes. "The words he cut into me."

That I laughed at. "Proved him dead wrong."

"It doesn't always feel like it." She sighed.

"You impressed my elder, my clan leader. Nothing weak or frail could have done that." I tried to reassure her. "The monster that tried to brand his idea of destiny into you, he failed and now he's got a very pissed off hybrid boyfriend to worry about once we're in the alpha quadrant." I smiled, but there was little humor in my tone.

"I want you to see them." She said in a deep inhale.

"Are you sure?" I asked, knowing that this could not have been an easy decision for her to make, I wanted to ensure that she was comfortable showing me.

"Yes." She nodded furiously. "I have permission from the captain for us to spend the night on the world."

"Away from prying eyes." I nodded, "Ok, but I want to do something for you then."

"What?" She blinked, either confused or surprised, I never learned and I didn't care.

"Yautja have a form of body art using scars. If we find more of my clan, I'd like to see if they have one trained in the art and turn the brand of what you see as shame into a blaring insignia of defiance." I smiled.

"I thought they prized obedience." She smirked.

"Defiance has it's place and they know when it should be applied." I smiled lightly, "The only thing is they'll need to do more scarring to make it work. Controlled, but still."

"Can I think about that?" She winced.

"Of course." I said. "It's always there as an option if you want to show you've defied the destiny someone else set before you."

"Thanks." She smiled and rested her head against me once more.

"So is that why you have such a connection to human culture?" I asked.

"They didn't want me to find out so they changed my name when they adopted me." Lina laughed. "Thing is I could look in a mirror and see something was off. They weren't the smartest people, but they had good hearts."

"They loved you, that's all that really matters in a family." I sighed and blew on her hair.

"Hey..." She snipped lightly as she fixed her hair. I blew on it again. "Watch it mister."

"This is nice." I said with a deep, relieved sigh.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"Never thought I'd ever have a feeling like this or not feel conflicted when it came up."

"You're not a monster, you know that. You just got unlucky." She smiled up at me.

"You don't know the half of it." I snorted. "Still, one of the few good things to come out of it, I got to live and have _Voyager_ find me. Without that, I'd probably still be on that rock going slowly more insane each day that passed."

We sat there for a few hours simply enjoying the silence of each others presence. It was a good silence, but I think we would have enjoyed it just as much had their been a band playing in the room.

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"Vile, could you come to my ready room?" Janeway's voice woke me and the first thing I noticed was that Lina was sleeping against my chest. I slid out from underneath her, doing what I could to not wake her up. I failed spectacularly and she jerked awake with a start.

"Oh crap!" She cursed.

"Hope you didn't have a shift to get too." I smirked.

"How long?"

I check my glove. "Forty-five minutes or so." I said.

"Oh good." She straightened out and fixed her uniform before she left with a smile and a wave.

"Vile?" Janeway's voice came back over the com.

"You woke me up, gimme a few minutes." I yawned with my response.

"All right, just please get here." The captain voice was on, edged with a small hint of annoyance.

I made my way to the bridge and the Janeway's Ready room through the Jeffery's Tubes and vents within Voyager. The vents were always smaller, but somehow I always managed my way through them. I got there rather fast and I think I managed to surprise not only Janeway, but Officer Ch'rega who was barely able to keep herself from pulling her weapon at the sight of me.

"Really, you couldn't use the door?" Janeway's Captain voice was filled with annoyance now.

"It's what I do." I said lazily.

"Of course it is." She sighed in defeat. "Officer Ch'rega, feel free to state your issues."

The klingon woman stood tall as I sat on the floor by Janeway's couch. I smiled as a slight sneer covered her face. Then she spoke.

"You are lazy, disrespectful, prone to insanity and depression and you ask a klingon warrior to serve as your subordinate?" She nearly spat every word. Then actually spat at me. "PetaQ!"

My tail wrapped around her legs faster than she could react and I held her upside down as I stood up. She took the time to bludgeon my tail with the hilt of her dagger, a tactic I took notice of, I dropped her in part to stop the pain and in part to let her think she had won a victory. Then when she was on her feet once again I hissed and slammed my palm into her chest and pinned her to the floor.

"Are we done here?" Janeway groaned.

"I don't know, that's up to her." I grunted. I really wasn't in the mood for a fight just now, but if she insisted I could bring the fight to her. "By the way, good trick with the hilt, watching when your idiot friend headbutted me I take it?"

"Yes." She growled.

"Good, then you learned, which is more than I can say of that idiot. Now if you can do that on the battlefield and keep a team alive long enough to achieve an objective I'd like to know because I have no use on my team for anyone stuck so far up their own ass that they can't learn from what they've observed." I snapped.

"What makes you think I would join you, you're mentally unbalanced!" She snapped back.

"Because you're a warrior who can rise to the challenge. You fought me and lived, not many can say that, especially when I'm having an episode." I growled. "Now, can I let you up or do I have to b eat you senseless first?"

"I will not attack." She growled back. I lifted my hand to see that she had pressed the blade against her armor rather than let it cut into me.

"There it is." I smiled. "Smart enough to know not to let me bleed at all, but you were done there."

"Yes." She huffed, "My defeat was obvious."

"Or you could have cut my fingers off and risked the acid blood." I snapped. "Kicked my legs out from under me and thrown me off balance."

"The volume of blood would have killed me and your tail would have provided a balance shift thus allowing you to recover faster than I could stand." She defended.

"See why I want her." I turned and smiled to Janeway.

"She's good, but did you have to fight in my ready room?" She rolled her eyes.

"I apologize Captain Janeway. I provoked him it is my dishonor." Ch'rega gave a bow, a form of obedience I guessed, it made me laugh.

Well the bow and why I attacked did. "Please, spitting on me isn't half as bad as what I've been through on a good day." I snorted. "I attacked to get your reaction." Her face didn't move an inch, but I could feel the anger in her glare.

"He's like that." Janeway sighed. "Honestly I don't know how his team has remained even remotely sane with his insane methods. Still they work and they've proven skilled and capable in taking on the xenomorphs."

"The parasitic lifeforms." Ch'rega nodded.

"Kainde amedha." I said not expecting a reaction.

"I do not know that language." Ch'rega snorted.

"It means hard meat." I said flatly. "They're the training game for the most lethal hunter's in the universe. They're also the greatest challenge for them."

"I've not heard of either these hunter or their prey, why should I care?" She rolled her eyes.

My patience for her at that point hit a wall. "I don't have time for your petty games to play at your honor or your desire for glory. There is a threat to galactic life and I'm in charge of a team designing itself to take the threat out. I've offered you a chance to join and do something just a slight bit greater with your life. Now you can take it and learn the rules here and deal with the change like I have or you can stay on the dead end rock where you may at best help your people build a functioning space pod before you die." I saw Janeway shake her head out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't care at that point.

I saw Ch'rega turn a shade of red I hadn't expected her to be capable of. She went to speak once or twice, but each time backed down, likely defeated by her own mental game of verbal chess. Finally she took her dagger and held it out. "My blade and skill are yours."

I felt the smirk form and looked to Janeway who merely stared on in astonishment.

"How did that work?" Janeway asked, astonished by what had just transpired.

"Duty above all else." Ch'rega said. "It would be irresponsible of me not to put my talents to this cause now that I have been invited to face it's challenges and trials."

"Janeway, small request." I smiled.

"Go ahead." She blinked, still obviously confounded by what she had seen.

"I would ask the Officer Ch'rega be allowed to wear any religious regalia and such that does not interfere with training. Same thing for my whole team really." I smiled.

"Really, special treatment?" Janeway shook her head.

"Morale can be improved by one's faith. Hell, I'd advise you lift the Starfleet ban while out here given the situation Voyager's in, but I know how you love your rules." I gave my best condescending smile.

"You're pushing it." She half-growled at me. "But for your team I'll grant it, it might make facing the dangers they do easier."

"Good." I smiled before turning to Ch'rega. "Were you made aware of the unit's big rules?"

"No." The klingon said flatly.

"Rule one: No relationships with other team members, it can lead to horrible mistakes. Rule Two: You listen to your team leader like they were your sole god when you're in the field." I made sure to keep eye contact.

"Even I cannot belay orders from a team leader when they're on a mission." Janeway said. "Well I can, but I know it won't turn out good most of the time."

"Rule three: Do not let yourself get taken by a kainde if at all possible and if you do get taken and can't get back in time, feel free to take out a huge chunk of a nest when you go." I continued. "Rule four: Do not attempt to go deeper into a hive without me."

"Why?" Ch'rega asked.

"Praetorians, young queens can tear through the team with little issue and can crush me on my own. Together though they are very simple if tedious to kill." I explained.

"I understand, are there any more rules?" She asked

"Rule five: If I loose control and turn on you, do not hesitate to kill me." That surprised her. "There is a hybrid capable of manipulating life through pheromones. You'll have a re-breather to filter that out, I won't." She nodded. "Which leads me to rule six: If you must engage a hybrid take every precaution you can. Every hybrid I've seen had had unique twists in their genetic codes and their own 'powers' so to speak. Do not underestimate them. Other than that you'll just need to learn with the team." I shrugged.

"Understood." She went to give a klingon salute, but stopped.

"It's fine Officer, I won't hold it against you." Janeway smiled. "I'll work out the specifics with Kholar for your transfer, but do you have any personal requests?"

Ch'rega thought for a moment. "I wish to begin training."

"I really like her now." I smiled. "But you'll have to wait. Only Harry Kim and myself can run the program and we're both going to be busy I suspect."

"I understand." Ch'rega seemed disappointed.

I tapped Janeway's desk and motioned to her drawer. She gave me a curious look and I had to speak. "The pad with the info on my old ship." She nodded and pulled it out of her desk.

"In the meantime, Ch'rega..." I handed her the pad. "Read this, this is the ship it all started with at least three of the children from there besides myself are now hybrid mutations bent on conquering the galaxy and converting all life to their form."

"So they are like the borg?" She asked.

"Not far off, but I'm not sure if they have a hive mind or not." I sighed. "There are several classified names in here, you won't be able to view them and if you hack into the files and do view them we will have a very big problem, do we understand?"

"This is personal to you." She stated it. "I will respect your request for the dead." It was my turn to be surprised.

"Thanks." I said, a disturbed silence edged the trail end of my voice before I turned to Janeway. "I'm going down with Flores tonight, anything we should be aware of?"

"Nothing plans wise, check with Seven for weather." Janeway nodded. "And please, use the door this time."

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I went towards the door and quickly stopped. I noticed Ch'rega sighing as she noticed my smirk and I gave a wink as I dashed for the tube once more. I heard Janeway shouting as I dove in and scampered off. Today was a good day, just not a good one to die at.

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We landed towards the afternoon, we made sure it was on a beach, several days walk from the Klingon settlement. Lina was happy to have the day with me it seemed, because we spent that day swimming in the ocean, going as deep as she could and then surfacing to dive once again. It was a glorious day of simple fun and excitement. Then the sun set and we agreed that I would find us a something to eat. I chose to find fish this time as I had spotted many species that were large enough to provide a meal for the both of us, once it was scanned to make sure it wasn't toxic.

For most of the night we simply sat and stared at the stars or the waves. Then she shifted and her face looked torn. I knew what was coming.

"You don't need to." I said softly.

"I do, if not for you to see, then for me to be rid of it." She gave a weak half smile.

She let the top of her swim suit fall to her sides. We both blushed for a moment as we realized I was look at he half naked form. My blush only lasted for a few seconds, as my eyes quickly caught the raised edges of her scars cut into her otherwise clean flesh. My blood boiled for a moment and then calmed, I couldn't do anything to avenger her and I knew it.

"Well?" She asked.

"I ever show you the scar I got on the back of my head?" I asked, a small broken smile formed on my lips.

"You are terrible!" She smacked my hands as I reached to pull her closer.

I saw the scars on her back then and with a sigh I rested my chin on her head. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to kill him, because I will, just tell me when."

"No." She sighed deeply and slid the straps of her suit back up. "I just needed to know it wouldn't..."

"What, scare me off?" I chuckled. "Face it Lina, we're stuck with each other. 'Least until we can find someone else just as crazy and pretty as us." I laughed and shifted my chin to resting on her shoulder.

"You are just horrible." she laughed.

"Well I know it'll be tough for someone as crazy as you to find someone and I can't help how pretty I am." I sighed.

"I try to have a serious moment..." She shook her head.

"We have a lifetime to be serious." I smiled. "Lets have some fun where we can."

She looked at me with an odd look. "What's gotten into you?"

I smiled. "For once I think I've actually made more progress than I've inhibited. I might not ever be 'fixed', but I can live with that if I can stop Leto and have someone there to cheer me on."

"Well, Harry is good at cheering." She chortled.

"Wow, kitty has claws." We both laughed.

"Is it wrong I want this to last another day?" I asked

"No, but we both know it can't." She said with a deep yawn as she leaned back against my chest. "Let's just watch the moon and fall asleep."

"You sleep, I'll keep you safe." I said.

"Promise?" Her eyes showed how tired she was.

"Always." I lightly bumped my forehead to hers as she drifted off to sleep.

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"Such fragile things..." Leto glared at the remaining eggs the former queen had left behind. "Find the royal carrier."

"Yes, my liege." Four hybrid said in unison with a bow.

Leto grinned and walked the path to the bridge where he found Jeht and the newest member to their circle, Laquese. The two turned to face their leader without hesitation.

"Lord Leto, we've been on the edges of Voyager's sensors for long enough, haven't we?" Laquese asked. "We should move in for the kill."

"Laquese, we need more numbers." Leto sighed. "And more than that I need a second in command."

"But Praenuntius..." He seemed stunned.

"Is our Queen, we will all serve her when she arises. However, I will be the military might of our people and I require a second who understands how I think and can counter it."

"My lord?" The former hirogen blinked.

"His mind was open and he didn't even notice what I saw." Leto smiled. "Jeht, lay in a course for the viidian home world, we will retrieve our brother, born a new."

"Vile hate's us, so would any clone." Jeht sighed.

"A clone that possessed his own memories, but mine as well..." He grinned darkly.

"He wouldn't be Vile then." Jeht said with a scoff.

"No, but neither would he be the prince the queens adored so, nor would he know what became of his original self. He would only know the hive." Leto growled.

"It's a risk, a dangerous one brother. One I'm not sure even my insane self would have taken." Jeht returned the growl with a steady glare.

"Do not fear Jeht, if he betrays us, our Queen shall be our salvation." Leto smiled as he sat in the captain's chair. "Now lay in the course."

Jeht nodded and did so.

"Take us to our brother." Leto began to chuckle and it grew into a deep dark laugh.


End file.
